Brother Bird
by DragonChild157
Summary: No one knows the value of family better than Dick Grayson. So is it any surprise that he applies that to his team? Series of one shots centered on the instances in which Dick is a brother to his teammates. Rated T for safety since the first chapter deals with child abuse, but most will have humor in them and be somewhere in the K range. Set in season 1. We'll see about season 2.
1. Speedster Save

Gah! Attack of the one shot plot bunny! I _literally _couldn't write anything until I got this done, so my entire day off was dedicated to _this_!...not a bad day, all things considered...This'll be my first rated T story, for the pure and simple fact that this one deals with child abusage. Yes, I have jumped on the Wally Whumpage bandwagon with this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy(?) it!

Boring Disclaimer: Yeah, don't own a thing. Otherwise Young Justice never would've left the air.

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"Ow."

Wally winced, lightly pressing the pads of his fingers to the bruise welling on his cheekbone. It was quite tender, especially as it crept up under his eye!

_**Why'd he have to go for the face? He's **_**never **_**gone for the face before. **_

He shook his head, resting his hands on the sink as he eyed his bruised face in the mirror. How was he going to get out of this one?

_I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I, rush and rush until life's no fun! _

He turned and ambled back into the bedroom, emerald green eyes seeking out his phone in amongst all the clutter of his room. The small square light shining through his blanket gave it away.

_All I really gotta do is live and die. I'm in a hurry and don't know why!_

He quickly flipped it back and retrieved his phone. Flipping it open, he found that the text message was from Robin.

**Robin. 8:30a.m.-**_ Dude, where R U? Canary's ready 2 start! _

He quickly keyed in a reply. **8:31a.m.-** _Sorry, parents holding me up. Be there in 10. _

**Robin 8:32a.m.-** _We'll be waiting. _

He quickly tucked the phone in his pocket and went to his closet, pulling a brilliant yellow hoody with a red flash symbol on the front out. He pulled it over his head and left the room, grabbing his sneakers on the way out the door.

The smell of fresh waffles drifted up the hall and made his mouth water as he made his way downstairs, hopping on one foot or the other as he pulled his shoes on. He very nearly fell down the stairs trying to tie the second shoe, catching himself on the railing at the last second.

In the kitchen, Mary West glanced up at her teenage son and smiled, setting another waffle on a plate already stacked with them. The redheaded woman had been a beauty once, but age and stress had tarnished that beauty, the lines on her face pronounced and her once vivid red hair now beginning to grey.

He moved forward and gave her a peck on the cheek like he was supposed to. She smiled and hugged him back, ruffling his tussled red locks with her free hand. Going through the motions. Like puppets on strings.

It seemed like that was all they ever did any more was go through the motions.

The sound of footsteps in the hall made them tense. Here came the puppeteer, the one who controlled almost every move they made. Wally watched as his father stalked into the room.

_**How did it come to this? **_He wondered. _**When did our lives become a puppet show, with dad pulling our strings to make us sing and dance? **_

His father seated himself at the table, and Mary was quick to set the plate of waffles down in front of her husband. Wally stomach felt as if it was going to eat a hole through his middle, but he made no attempt to get any for himself. He knew better than that.

Instead, he contented himself with the tall glass of orange juice from the counter. That much they knew was allowed, and Mary responded by making sure there was always a glass sitting out for him in the morning.

He eyed his father over the rim of the glass. There was never any telling what his volatile father would do next.

Rudolf West was a powerfully built man. His hair was duller, darker. Not the vibrant red Mary and Wally possessed. Like Mary, he was going grey, and his face had become rugged with age and stress.

He dug into the waffles Mary had provided, not sparing on the butter and syrup. He ignored his wife and son, both of whom were silently looking on. He finished his meal quickly and stood. Grabbing his coat off of the coat rack he kissed his wife, ruffled his sons hair, and grunted a noncommittal goodbye before stalking out the door.

They breathed a sigh of relief once they heard the front door click shut behind him. The puppeteer was gone, they could pull their own strings. At least a little bit.

But not too much.

Mary quietly refilled Wally's glass, before dishing up her own breakfast. Wally pointedly ignored the food. If he asked, she would probably let him have it. He didn't want to get her in trouble.

He gulped down the rest of his orange juice and grabbed his own jacket.

"You're going out?" Mary asked softly, not looking at him. He nodded. She sighed and turned her head away. "Where will you be?"

Wally shrugged his jacket on. "With friends."

"Robin again?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'd like to meet him some day." She remarked wistfully. "He sounds like such a nice boy."

Wally gave his mother another quick peck on the cheek. "He is." He agreed. "Rob's my hero. You'll meet him someday. I promise."

They both knew it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Rudolf didn't allow Wally to have friends over.

Ever.

If Wally wanted to have friends over as a civilian, for anything, he had to invite them over to Uncle Barry's. Barry didn't mind, the more the merrier as far as he was concerned.

"Take your phone with you." She murmured as he headed for the door.

He held up his phone, not looking back. "I got it. See you tonight mom."

* * *

_Recognize. Kid. Flash. B. Zero. Three. _

"Hey! Sorry I'm late! I stopped by Uncle B's to grab some extra food and I ran into Captain Boomerang on the way to the zeta tube. He got away."

Black Canary arched an eyebrow. "Apparently not without getting a few hits in…" she commented dryly.

Wally touched the bruise under his eye, wincing. "Yeah." He murmured, chagrined. "Thank god for the speedster healing factor though right? Provided I eat enough this'll be pretty much gone by the time I get home."

Canary nodded, motioning to the side of the ring. "Grab something from the kitchen then take a seat. Kaldur. Conner. You're up."

The two boys specified nodded and quickly stepped up on the holo-mat, assuming ready positions.

Wally dashed away at super speed, retrieving two apples and an orange from the kitchen before coming back and seating himself beside Robin on the side of the ring. He tossed one of the apples to Robin, taking a bite out of the other one and leaning forward to watch the match.

Suspicion deflected.

His mother knew he was Kid Flash. His father didn't, though with the way bruises could disappear in the space of a day he probably suspected something. But neither of them knew about Wally's accelerated metabolism. Due to his father, he ate only one normal sized meal at home.

His Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry always had meals for him, ostensibly to provide the extra food he needed so there was no risk of his parents finding out. Anything else he needed, he scavenged from the pantry's at the mountain, which were kept well stocked.

No one knew about his restricted meal schedule at home.

Heck, as far as anyone else was concerned, his home life was a happy one. And he intended to keep it that way. No one could ever know what went on in the West home.

No one…

* * *

Robin eyed his best friend. He was worried.

He'd been watching Wally for some time now, and it hadn't escaped his notice that Wally _always_ seemed to be sporting some new form of injury. Cuts. Bruises.

Just last month his wrist had been fractured in _three_ different places!

But that wasn't what worried Robin the most, injuries came in the job description of being a hero. What worried him was the fact that Wally often gave various Central City villains as excuses, but when Robin looked them up he found that those villains often couldn't have run into Wally. They were in jail, sighted elsewhere, or in one case fighting the Flash himself in another part of Central!

Wally was lying.

And Robin had made it his goal to find out what Wally was hiding. He'd done everything he could think of.

He'd hacked Wally's phone for his texts and voice mails. He'd sifted through his best friend's email account, everything he'd ever received, sent, and drafted. He'd hacked the security systems for Wally's high school and watched the tapes for bullies.

That hadn't turned up anything outside of some vicious and somewhat underhanded P.E. tactics on the part of the school jocks, but nothing that would produce the injuries Robin was seeing inflicted on his bro.

He'd even put tracers in Wally's uniform, sneakers, and wallet to see if he was sneaking off somewhere and maybe that was where he was getting hurt.

Nothing had turned up.

The boy wonder had even hacked the Watch Tower, Hall of Justice, and Mount Justice security cameras, on the off chance it might be a league member. He hacked their emails, both personal and professional, and he had run their phone records to see if they'd had contact of any kind with Wally.

The only ones to have done so were the Flash, not surprisingly, and Roy, also not surprising.

On the team, the only ones to have contact with him via phone or email were himself and Artemis, himself being the main contact.

Zatanna had texted a time or two, but other than that…

Nothing.

A sudden thought struck him as he watched his friend finish the apple and start in on the orange. Wally had been eating a lot lately…well, Wally always ate a lot, that wasn't weird. But now that he thought about it, Wally seemed to be eating more than was usual.

Even for him.

A horrible suspicion began to worm in his gut.

_**Tonight. **_He thought grimly, watching as Wally finished the orange and ran the peelings and apple cores to the garbage can and ran back. _**Tonight, Robin's going to get an up close and personal look at anything and everything related to Rudolf and Mary West. One way or another, I'm going to find out who's doing this. **_

_**And I'm going to stop them…**_

* * *

Wally was in the living room when Rudolf got home that night.

He was sitting cross legged on the couch, his math book and notebook propped open on his knees, a pencil behind his ear. His phone was sitting open on his math book, alongside his calculator.

He could hear the soft hum of his mother's voice coming from the kitchen. She liked to hum while she washed the dinner dishes at night.

He'd always found it soothing.

The door slammed open and Rudolf stumbled in, a bottle in his hand. Wally wrinkled his nose in distaste. His father was drunk as a skunk tonight. He was always at least a _little _buzzed anymore when he came home, it had been that way for months, ever since he'd lost his job. But this was worse than usual.

Tonight, Rudolf West was completely and utterly soused.

His mother's soft humming stopped and he was abruptly reminded of the woman in the kitchen. Dad was home early tonight. She hadn't had a chance to hide. Neither had Wally. Wally's jaw tightened as he eyed his drunken father. He'd see to it she got her chance to hide.

He'd keep Rudolf's attention on him.

"Hey dad." He called unenthusiastically from his spot on the couch. "You're home early."

Rudolf focused his drunken gaze on his son, face flushed, with drink or temper Wally wasn't sure. "I'm th' man of th' house." He slurred. "I'll come an' go 's I please."

Wally nodded, lowering his gaze to his homework. "Yes sir."

His father stumbled closer, peering blearily at the book and notebook in Wally's lap. _**Huston. Operation 'I'm a glutton for punishment' has been initiated. **_Wally had to work to keep his face deadpan.

Robin was right, his poker face _sucked_.

"Doin' yer homework…like a good lil' boy?" His father asked.

Wally nodded, pulling his pencil out from behind his ear. "Yeah dad…" he jotted down the answer. "Like a good little boy…"

_I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I, rush and rush until life's no fun! _His phone buzzed and the song by Alabama began to play. He picked his phone up and opened the text message.

**Robin 9:15p.m.-** _Dude, that question U sent? U did ok till step 3. You need to divide it bro, not X it. _

Wally smiled and texted back. **9:16p.m.-**_Got it! Thanks dude. Appreciate it. _

A low growl sounded behind him and a rough, calloused hand snatched his phone away. "Somebody's sendin' you answers? You're cheatin'?"

Wally froze. _**Crap! **_

He whirled around to stare up at his father. "What? No! Dad, it's not what you think! Rob's just helping me out!"

Rudolf snapped the phone shut, shoving it in his pocket. His face was deadly, dangerous as he glared at his son. "You've got someone feedin' you answers." He growled, eyes narrowing. "Yer cheatin'!"

He suddenly lunged, grabbing Wall and dragging him off the couch. "No son of mine's gonna be a filthy cheater!" he yelled, bringing his fist down across Wally's face, pounding him mercilessly into the floor.

And he didn't stop.

Again and again he hit the teen lying prostrate on the floor, screaming at him how he was lazy, worthless. "Yer good fer nothin'!" he yelled. "I'm ashamed t' call you son! All you ever do is eat my food, sleep 'n my house, and hang out with yer friends all day! You're worthless!"

Wall held up his arms, trying to fend off his Rudolf's blows. But if he was being honest, it wasn't his dad's fists that hurt most.

It was his words.

* * *

Robin glared at his holo-computer.

A strong cool breeze tousled his black hair, bringing the sounds of the city streets far below along with it. Off to one side he could see Batman, the dark knight's long black cape flowing in the wind.

His phone suddenly buzzed and he smiled as it began to sing.

_He rocks in the tree top, all the day long. Hoppin' an' a boppin' an' a singin' his song. All the little birdies on jay bird's street love the way the robin goes tweet twee tweet…!_

H pulled it from his belt and flipped it open, ignoring the disapproving look Batman was sending him. They were on stakeout in one of the _noisiest_ districts of Gotham. No one was going to hear his cell phone going off.

Wally had certainly answered back quickly enough!

**Captain Obvious 9:16p.m.-** _Got it! Thanks dude. Appreciate it._

He chuckled and dropped the phone back in the pouch on his belt, making sure it closed. It wouldn't do to have it fall out in the middle of a fight and get lost! Out of the corner of his eye he saw Batman leap off the side of the building. A quick glance showed that he was after a purse snatcher down the block.

No need for Robin to move, better that at least one of them stayed here to monitor the building they were watching.

Now, back to the search.

He keyed into the Bat Computer's search programs remotely, entering in the name of Rudolf West. Several people with that name popped up. Who would've thought there were so many Rudolf West's living in the united states.

He frowned, re-defining his search parameters to narrow down his list.

He wanted a Mr. Rudolf West living in Central City. Married, to Mrs. Mary West. Father of Wallace Rudolf West. It didn't take long for the computer to find the one he was looking for.

The picture being painted for him wasn't what he'd been expecting. He settled in to read the man's bio.

Rudolf West was apparently an upstanding citizen up until he lost his job several months back, but no out and out child abuse or domestic violence. He'd had several different menial jobs since he lost that first one, none of which he'd held for long. He had a couple DUI charges and a couple citations for being drunk in public.

Robin shook his head. "That would certainly explain why he lost all those jobs. No one wants to have a drunk working for them, it's bad for business." he murmured grimly. "But that doesn't…" He trailed off as a new bit of related information popped up.

He frowned. The information wasn't about Rudolf. It was About Wally's mother Mary.

He clicked the tab and a new window opened up. Galaxy blue eyes widened behind the white lenses of his domino mask as he read what this new page had to say. They were medical and police reports for Mary West. Apparently Mary had been attacked by muggers on several occasions.

Robin shook his head. It didn't escape his notice that Mary went to a different hospital or clinic each time. "Uh uh…No way someone gets mugged _that_ often outside of Gotham. Especially not in Central."

He continued reading the reports, paying careful attention to the type and location of the injuries she'd sustained. Comparing them to the various injuries he'd observed on Wally, an eerie pattern began to form.

It was Rudolf. It _had_ to be.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Robin spluttered, sitting back against the wall. He ran a hand distractedly through his hair. "If that's what's going on, why wouldn't Wally do something? Why wouldn't he tell me?"

_He rocks in the tree top, all the day long. Hoppin' an' a boppin' an' a singin'…_

He snatched his phone out of his belt pouch, cutting off the song before it had a chance to run it's course, and flipped it open.

A sense of panic was coursing through his veins, some instinct warning him that something was wrong.

Horror swamped him as he looked at Wally's text message. The phone slipped from his nerveless fingers, clattering to the concrete ledge he was sitting on.

That sound was enough to jar him into action.

He leapt from the side of the building, the stakeout forgotten in his new sense of urgency. Behind him, he could hear Batman calling his name, but he didn't care.

He kept going, racing for the Zeta beams as fast as he could.

* * *

Batman starred after his protégé, wondering what on earth had gotten into him.

The boy wonder had been distracted all night, either working on his holo-computer or texting someone, probably Wally.

The bright red of Robin's phone caught his eye and he leapt down onto the ledge Robin had just vacated in such a wild, frantic manner. He scooped up Robin's phone and flicked it open.

Robin's phone was different from his own, and it took him a couple moments to learn how to navigate it. Once he did, the first thing he looked at was the text messages. The last one Robin had received was from someone labeled 'Captain Obvious' at 11:05p.m..

He opened it.

And suddenly he understood why Robin had raced off in such a hurry.

He thumbed his com link on, connecting to the rest of the league. "Batman to Watchtower. We have a _serious_ problem…"

* * *

Wally whimpered, doing his best to protect his head within the safety of his arms.

It felt like his dad might _finally_ be running out of steam.

The teen was laying on the pale blue carpet of their living room. His wrists were tied to the leg of his mother's heavy wooden coffee table, secured there with his father's belt. He weakly tugged at his bonds, bleary eyes trying to make sense of the convoluted mass of leather and metal belt buckle.

But he didn't have much hope.

If there was one thing he'd learned since his father had started on this downward spiral, it was that he hit hard, and tied _really _good knots. If he were Robin, or Harry Houdini, he might've had a chance. But he wasn't. And he didn't.

Not in this condition.

Wally felt something small and hard hit his temple and bounce off. He opened bleary eyes. His father had apparently thrown his phone at him in his anger.

The rain of angry blows suddenly stopped and he immediately returned his attention to his dad.

The inebriated man was weaving, apparently having difficulty keeping his bearings as the alcohol took its toll on him. He muttered a drunken curse and turned away, stumbling towards the hall that would take him upstairs to his bedroom.

Wally was startled to see the blurry figure of his mother standing in the doorway, apparently blocking his father's path.

What was she doing?

Rudolf grabbed his wife by the upper arms, giving her a violent shake. "Leave him there." He slurred in a growl. "Or I'll do worse to _you_…"

She gave a frightened nod and he shoved her away, stumbling past her and into the hall.

The two were absolutely silent as they listened to him make his way up the stairs, tripping more often than not, probably over his own feet. Then the door upstairs slammed shut. The puppeteer had gone to bed for the night. He'd probably already passed out.

Tears welled in Wally's eyes and spilled down his cheeks. When had his life gotten so screwed up?

"Mom…" He whimpered, raising his head up a little off of the bloody carpet to look for her. "Mom, help me…please…"

He couldn't see the tears on Mary's face as she made her way across the room toward him, his eyes were to blurry for that. Nor could he see the pain in her gaze or the shaking of her hands.

But he could feel that shaking when she gently smoothed back his hair. And he could hear the tremble in her voice when she spoke.

"I can't…"

She couldn't. He'd known she couldn't. Or wouldn't. He didn't know any more. But he didn't try to hide anything from her. He let the tears fall.

"…stay with me…?" he whispered.

She nodded, taking a seat on the couch in case Rudolf came back. She could claim she was watching him, making sure he didn't get away. Or maybe she just wanted the comfortable seat.

He didn't know anymore.

He let his head fall back to rest on the carpet, and his eye landed on his phone, hidden partially under the coffee table. The phone…

...if he could just _get_ to it…

Wally eyed his mother. She'd curled herself up on one end of the couch, her knees drawn up to chest and her head resting in her arms. She wasn't watching him. He grimaced, shifting his body so that he looked like he was curled up in the fetal position.

That would put his head below the level of coffee table and out of her line of sight.

He lowered his head, carefully grabbing at the phone with his teeth. The phone's slick plastic body made it difficult and he dropped it twice. Each time the teen glanced worriedly at his mother, afraid she would have heard, but she showed no sign that she had.

Finally, he managed to get a good hold on it and lift it up to his hands.

Now came the really risky part. The way his hands were tied, they stuck out beyond the end of the table. If Mary looked up now she'd see the phone.

_**So don't give her a reason to look. **_

He thumbed down the volume, then flipped the phone open. Shaky fingers keyed up that last text from Robin and hit reply, picture message.

Wally grimaced. There was a very good chance that his father had broken something.

_**Maybe several somethings.**_

He turned the phone around and clumsily snapped a picture of himself, sending it off to Rob along with a brief text.

**11:05p.m.-** _Help. Rob Batclanus. _

Once that 'message sent' image came up on his screen Wally let his head fall back, his phone slipping from nerveless fingers.

_**Hurry Dick. **_He thought tiredly. _**Hurry…**_

* * *

_Recognize. Robin. B. Zero. One. _

The brilliant light of the zeta beams faded away and Robin leapt out. The boy wonder hit the streets, and it was with a start that he realized he'd never been to Wally's house. The two boys had always hung out at the house of Barry Allen, the Flash.

He hurriedly brought up his holo-computer, keying in a route for the address listed as Rudolf West's home address.

The route showed up, outlined in brilliant red like a GPS and he began running. Wally's home was only six blocks away. He couldn't do six blocks as fast as Wally or Barry could, but he bet he could make it in record time!

The boy wonder darted out into the nearly deserted street after a pickup truck, catching hold of the bumper and climbing up into the bed of the truck. He checked his map, counting how many intersections he had to pass the downsized it, pulling up another GPS map and plotting a secondary course.

Wally was going to need a hospital.

Now to the second part of the plan. He quickly shrugged out of the backpack he was wearing beneath his cape. After he'd become Robin, he'd taken to storing bags of clothes in hidden crevices and secret panels around Gotham. So had Batman, and it had made their lives so much easier.

He'd picked up this bag from one of their stashes along the way.

The boy wonder quickly detached his cape, rolling it up and stuffing it in the bag. From there he quickly pulled on a sweatshirt and pair of loose fitting jeans over his uniform. Still counting intersections, he carefully peeled off his domino mask and tucked it into a pocket on his utility belt.

"That's it." he murmured, and hopped off the truck. He pulled the GPS map back up, getting his bearings. Wally's house was just down this street two blocks and to his right.

"I'm coming Wally." He whispered. "I'm coming."

He downsized his map and took off running, still adding touches to his disguise as he ran.

A ski cap to hide his hair, and two drops of pigment specially formulated by Batman to change the color of his eyes from their normal, vibrant blue to green. His world would have a yellow tinge for a few minutes, but then he'd be fine.

The dye would wear off in a few days.

He doubted even Bruce would recognize him now at first glance.

_**There. That white house. That one's Wally's.**_ _**He would **_**totally**_** have a Flash wind chime hanging on his front porch. **_Robin smirked, lightly tapping one of the chimes in amusement as he passed.

He crept across the porch, peering in at one of the windows.

Kitchen.

He frowned, trying to blink away the last vestiges of yellow. The door on the opposite side of the kitchen let out into a hall. And on the other side of that was what looked like the living room. He couldn't see much of that room, but he could see the carpet. Pale blue carpet. That was the room Wally was in.

That was the carpet he'd seen in the picture Wally had sent him.

The living room was the only light on in the house. That was where they were. It had to be. He quietly extended the lock pick in the fingertip of his glove and inserted it into the lock on the front of the door.

It was the work of a few silent moments, and he was in.

The boy wonder slipped down the hall, checking the rooms he passed as he did. He wanted to run straight to the living room, find Wally. But Batman had trained him better than that. He took it slow and careful.

His heart lurched in his chest and his stomach tried to tie itself in knots when he finally peered into the living room.

Wally was laying on his side by a heavy wood coffee table, his hands tied to a leg of it by a strong leather belt. Bruises coated his face and whatever other skin could be seen. Blood had stained the pale blue carpet a dark reddish purple color. Robin wasn't even sure Wally was breathing.

A redheaded woman Robin recognized from his background check as Mary West was curled up on the couch. Her head was laid on her arms, her eyes red with crying as she gazed down at the inert form of her son.

Wally needed his help, but he still had no clue where in the house Rudolf was. Robin chewed his lip nervously, then came to a decision.

He quietly slipped into the living room, crossing the floor to kneel by Wally.

Mary slowly raised her head, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She watched in silence as this stranger checked Wally to make sure he was breathing. Her eyes only got wider when he picked up Wally's phone and quickly snapped several pictures of her son with it.

Robin tucked the phone in his pocket and moved around Wally, crouching by his head and quickly undoing the belt that help his hands captive.

"Who are you?" Mary whispered softly.

Robin didn't even look at her, gently trying to massage some of the circulation back into Wally's wrists. "A friend." He answered.

"…Robin." She breathed. "You're Robin…!"

Robin glanced at her in surprise. "Yeah. Wally needs help, so here I am." He was afraid to move the speedster, afraid that he might hurt Wally more. But he didn't dare stay here to long, Rudolf could come back at any minute.

He _had_ to move him.

He gently rolled the speedster over onto his back, wincing when Wally's head lolled limply to the side. "Oh Wally…" he murmured.

Mary wiped at her teary eyes. "Wally talks about you all the time…" she sniffled.

"Yeah?" Robin wasn't really paying attention, running his hands down Wally's chest in search of any broken bones.

Mary nodded. "He said you were his hero."

That made the boy wonder pause, looking to her in unveiled surprise. Robin smiled. "Well then I'd better get with the heroing then."

* * *

"So how the heck did you get him to the hospital?"

Robin grinned at Barry Allen's incredulous expression. "Yeah... about that… Does it count as grand theft auto if you hotwire a car to take the son of the owner to the hospital?"

Barry stared at him for a moment, then cracked up. "I'll have to check on that." He laughed.

The two were sitting in a waiting room at the Central City Main Hospital, waiting for news on Wally's condition.

It had taken Robin fifteen minutes to get Wally outside, Mary watching from a distance, never offering help of any kind. Another ten minutes saw Wally laid out on the backseat of the family car, said car hotwired, and the two of them were well on their way to the hospital.

The hospital staff were quite surprised when a car driven by a thirteen year old pulled up in front of the E.R. to drop off a half dead sixteen year old.

Wally had been rushed away, and Robin had been left behind in a waiting room. He'd called Bruce and Barry, telling them what was going on and where he was now. The police had been sent to the West household, and Barry had shown up at the hospital.

Iris would arrive shortly.

Bruce had stayed away, as the story being used to explain 'Robin Batclanus' was that he was a runaway Wally had befriended. Robin had supposedly been living on the streets of Central. When Wally had called, Robin had come running. He'd broken into the West home, rescued Wally, hotwired the car and brought his friend to the hospital.

"So what's going to happen to him?" Robin asked softly.

Barry's face became grim. "That's up to Wally." He answered. "One thing's for sure though, I am _never_ going to let him go back to living under that man's roof!"

Robin shook his head. "Neither am I…"

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

Wally winced, trying to paste a smile over his face and failing miserably. "Like a punching bag that's been hit one too many times." He answered.

"You're not far off." Barry answered grimly, wrapping an arm around Iris waist.

His wife had arrived not long before the doctors had finished with Wally. She was teary eyed, and looked as if she wanted to scoop Wally up and cuddle him, but was afraid to for fear of hurting him further.

"According to the doctor your dad broke or fractured several of your ribs, your right forearm is fractured, your nose is broken, and your spleen is ruptured. You would've died of internal bleeding if you'd been left lying there long enough." Barry explained, the tight tones of his voice giving away his anger at his nephew's mistreatment.

Iris flinched into her husband's protective hold as he detailed Wally's injuries. She couldn't believe that her brother would _do _something like this!

Or that Mary would actually _sit there _and _allow _it to happen!

Robin reached out and clasped his friend's hand, sparing an irritated glance at the IV tube getting in his way. "You 'traught?"

Wally made a face. "Do I look like it? You and pretty much everyone else just found out my big dirty secret. Wally West is so worthless and screwed up his dad beats him and his mom doesn't even lift a finger to help. Some hero right?"

Robin's eyes narrowed, and without so much as a word of warning he reached out and slapped the speedster. Not hard enough to really hurt him, just enough to make it sting.

Iris moved as though to interfere, opening her mouth in protest but Barry stopped her. She glanced back and he shook his head ever so slightly.

Wally starred at Robin, hurt and confused. "What was that for?" he asked, almost indignant.

Robin folded his arms, eyes narrowing. "Because that's the _one_ hit you took tonight that you _do_ deserve if you think deserved all _this!_" Seeing the disbelieving look on Wally's face he rolled his eyes. "Dude, if you were so 'worthless and screwed up', would I have come all the way to Central to _help_ you?"

Wally sighed. "Rob, you're my friend. I.."

Robin shook his head emphatically. "Not on your life."

He waited for those words to sink in, then said forcefully. "As far as I'm concerned you're _family_. Now suck it up and stop with the pity party because last I checked you and I were going to prank the team this April Fool's day, and today's March 26th, so you and I need to get our tails in gear or else we won't be ready on time."

Wally grinned, the old familiar look of mischief lighting up his emerald eyes. "Right." A concerned look suddenly crossed his face. "Wait, how are you going to get out of this Rob? Child Services is gonna want to shove you somewhere."

Robin grinned. "I'll stick around long enough to make sure your dad never gets anywhere _near_ you and you end up somewhere safe, then I'll conveniently disappear." He winked. "Don't worry about it, I've got connections."

Wally laughed. "I'll just _bet_ you do!" His smile faded after a moment and he looked to Barry. "What's going to happen now Uncle B? Aunt Iris?"

Iris came to sit on the side of his bed, Barry leaning on the foot of it. "_You_…" Barry answered. "..will come to stay with Iris and me once you're out of the hospital, until the courts settle everything."

Iris hesitantly took Wally's hand. "If you want…we could sue for custody so you could stay with us permanently…"

Wally starred at her, mouth hanging open a little, and for a minute she thought he was going to refuse. Then she saw the tears welling in his eyes.

"You mean it?" he whispered, looking from her to Barry.

Barry smiled and nodded. "I'll go out and get a lawyer first thing tomorrow if that's what you want kid." He answered.

Wally nodded, throwing his arms around his aunt. "Yes! …please…."

* * *

"Thank you Rob." Wally whispered.

Barry and Iris had left the room to go speak with the doctor. Due to Wally's accelerated healing and metabolism, they needed to get him away from medical observation as soon as possible or his cover was going to be blown.

"Call me anytime." Robin chuckled. Leaning in to hug the speedster he whispered. "This is what brothers are for…"

* * *

Glad I finally got _that_ off my chest! I've been wanting to abuse Wally for ages!...that totally sounded wrong... Anyway, next chapter up will feature Robin being a little brother to some other teammate. I'm thinking it'll be Conner or Kaldur, maybe Artemis. We'll see which one inspiration strikes first.

Review! Or Rudolf will eventually get out of prison and come after Wally again!...then again, that might be a fun story to write...especially if he's sworn vengeance on 'Robin Batclanus' (Rofl, still love that idea! Which is mine by the by, so no touchy!)...ok, maybe that wasn't the best threat to get reviews... So anyway, REVIEW! Or I'll do _something_...I'm done...

Until next time...


	2. Floundering Fish

Here it is! The much anticipated second instance of brotherly (birdly?) love from everyone's favorite little bird!

Shout outs to E-Scope5426, ZigZaggy, Infinite Alpha-Omega 1, Amara Rae, DoggieFanNumber1, RandomKitty101, Sairey13, TheGirlNightwing, GeekFreak, Immaworkin, Sporks, and Can'tShutUp! You guys make me feel whelmed! Have a virtual cookie! (::)

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 5, 11:02 a.m.**

_"Tell me my friend. Do you ever wonder what would have been if our positions had been reversed?" _

_ Garth shook his head, smiling down at Tula as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Never." _

_ Kaldur smiled. "Neither have I ." _

He couldn't stop thinking about that conversation. Standing there at the zeta tube, gazing at the woman he loved in the arms of another. For so many years, those two had been his best friends.

None could have been closer.

He was happy for them, he really was. And he had told them so before he left, congratulating the two of them. They had both apologized, feeling as though they had betrayed him in some way, as he'd never made his feelings toward Tula a secret. He had reassured them that this was not the case.

But a very small, traitorous part of him couldn't help but feel that they were right.

Kaldur sighed and looked away, leaning back against the wall of the kitchen, his arms folded over his chest. He was only half listening to the team's conversation as they sampled M'Gann's latest cooking creation of the charcoal variety.

He absently chewed on a bite of his, the rest waiting in his hand to be eaten.

They might've been cookies once, before their trip through the culinary hell fires. Then again, they could just as easily have been biscuits, or maybe _really_ flat cupcakes.

There was no way of knowing what it was supposed to be unless they asked M'Gann, and that would show her that they couldn't tell and that she had failed.

Hence, asking M'Gann what on earth she'd been trying to cook was an unspoken taboo.

"Kaldur?"

Kaldur looked up in surprise. The rest of the team was looking at him oddly, and M'Gann was floating right in front of him, a concerned look on her face. Belatedly, he realized he hadn't finished her sample, and he wasn't entirely certain how long she had been floating there trying to get his attention.

"Is everything ok?" M'Gann asked. "You haven't taken more than a bite.

Kaldur offered up a small, tired smile. "My apologies M'Gann, I was distracted." He took another bite of his burnt whatever it was.

M'Gann smiled back uncertainly.

Kaldur wasn't one to linger over anything, and he was usually the one she could best rely on to deliver honest criticism without hurting her feelings. She knew that her cooking skills were poor but she tried anyway, because Kaldur had encouraged her to keep trying to improve.

"Are they any better than the last batch of cookies?" she asked anxiously.

Ah, so they were supposed to be cookies!

Kaldur smiled and nodded.

This recipe called for a pinch of salt in amongst all the sweeteners, and truthfully, Kaldur believed that she might have added more than a pinch by mistake. Usually her recipe was sound, she just tended to leave things in the oven to long.

"You are improving with each and every attempt M'Gann." He reassured, forcing as much warmth as he could into his voice.

It must've worked because she seemed happy enough.

"Hey Kaldur!" Artemis called from across the kitchen. "Boy wonder here says Bats is giving us the next week off. When will you be heading out for Atlantis?"

Kaldur kept himself from wincing at the mention of Atlantis with a supreme effort of will.

He straightened up from his position against the wall. "I will not be returning to Atlantis during the team's hiatus this time. My king requires my presence on the surface." He turned and quietly left the kitchen.

He didn't notice the shocked looks that followed him.

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 9, 5:29 p.m.**

Kaldur drew his knees up against his chest, watching as the waves slowly rolled in from Happy Harbor, crashing down and breaking on the sands of Mount Justice's shore.

True to what Robin had claimed, Batman had indeed given them the week off from missions. And the past several days had been torture for Kaldur. At least if they'd had missions he would've had something to focus on, keep himself distracted from the mixture of joy and pain that was Garth and Tula's love and friendship.

But there were no missions, and the Atlantian had found himself with way too much time on his hands.

And no matter what he tried, Garth and Tula were at the forefront of his thoughts, bringing a monsoon of emotions with them.

He did miss Atlantis, and he missed his two friends waiting there for him below the surface. But, for the time being, it would be better for all concerned if he remained here on the surface.

He sighed, crossing his arms over his knees and resting his head on them.

Four days into the seven eventless days the team had been given.

Three to go.

At first he had sought out his friends, thinking to distract himself with their company. But he soon found that he couldn't focus. And so he had eventually sought out solitude, that he might attempt to sort out his emotions in private.

That hadn't really worked either.

He felt horrible, but he didn't want his friends to know that something was wrong. He didn't want to tell them his troubles.

It wasn't that he didn't trust them, or care for them, or doubted that their friendship was genuine. He put his life in their hands every time they went out on a mission, and they had placed their lives in his by naming him their leader. And he knew that if he took his troubles to them, they would do whatever they could to help him. There was no lack of trust and care between him and his friends.

But he kept this latest blow to himself. It somehow seemed…to personal to share.

The sound of quiet footsteps in the sand came to his ears, and after a moment someone settled in the sand beside him. He remained where he was, outwardly calm, though in reality he was tense as a bowstring.

"Mind if I join you?"

He raised his head to look over at Robin. The boy wonder was dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, and a dusky red t-shirt, the sunglasses that hid his eyes when he was in civilian garb perched on his nose.

Frankly Kaldur was surprised he'd heard the diminutive ninja approach at all.

"Not at all." He answered quietly and he turned his gaze out to the harbor, eyes seeking out that sight of the open sea beyond the harbor mouth.

A companionably silence fell between them as they sat gazing out to sea.

"What do you see?" Robin asked softly.

Kaldur dragged his eyes back to Robin, frowning in confusion. "What?"

Robin gestured out to sea. "What do you see when you look out at the ocean? Me, I see a boundless sky with a sea gull here and there. An open horizon, endless possibilities. And somewhere in the back of my mind I know that there's a city out there somewhere. Some people see the home of man eating sharks. Others see pretty sunsets. Some see their livelihood. And some see the storms and hurricanes they've lived through."

Robin finally looked at Kaldur. "What do you see?"

Kaldur starred out at the water. What _did_ he see?

It was several moments before he answered. "I see my home." He answered softly. "Beautiful. Moving. _Alive. _It saddens me that not many will know the world below the waves as I do." He sighed. "I see my home, so close, and yet so far away. I need only walk a few feet to step into the ocean, but I would need to swim hundreds of miles to reach the city of my birth."

Again they fell silent, watching the waves roll in. And again, it was Robin who broke that silence.

"Are you alright…?"

"Why would I not be?"

Robin gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't buying. "You and I both know better than that." He answered gently. Kaldur didn't answer and Robin reached out to place a hand on his arm. "Kaldur, you've been out of sorts ever since you came back from Atlantis five days ago."

The Atlantian raised an eyebrow and Robin grinned and answered the unspoken question. "Yes, you're _that_ obvious. But only to someone who knows you and is really paying attention." His smile softened. "…what's wrong?"

Kaldur sighed. "When I returned to Atlantis last week I found that some…changes, had been made. I am still attempting to come to terms with them."

Robin's face became concerned. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Kaldur smiled sadly and shook his head. "No my friend, though I appreciate your concern. I will be alright before long."

Robin nodded, though clearly still worried. After a moment, he scrambled up on his knees and pulled Kaldur into a hug. "We're all here for you Kaldur, you know that right?"

Kaldur broke the hug and nodded.

Robin smiled and stood. "Good. And when you're ready to talk, any one of us will be more than happy to listen."

Kaldur watched as the diminutive ninja silently made his way back across the beach towards the mountain, his silent steps making it abundantly clear that the only reason Kaldur had heard him before was because he _wanted_ to heard.

A soft smile touched his face, and he returned his attention to the sea.

* * *

Robin glanced back, making sure that Kaldur was remaining out on the beach for the time being. Once he was sure, he made his way to the living room.

**_M'Gann. _**He thought silently to the Martian girl. **_Do me a favor and link up everyone but Kaldur. _**

In the kitchen, M'Gann frowned but nodded, her eyes glowing silver green. **_Link established. _**She answered.

**_Hey, what's up? _**Wally thought back, literally zipping through his homework in his bedroom.

**_Ok, has anyone else noticed that Kaldur hasn't been whelmed lately, or is it just me?_** Robin silently thought at the others, settling himself into the corner of the couch and bringing up his holo-computer.

**_Definitely not just you. _**Wally answered, pausing in his schoolwork.

In the gym, Artemis lowered her bow, the target at the other end bristling like a pin cushion with her arrows. Her goal had long since ceased to be to pull a 'Robin Hood' and split one arrow with another. Instead, she sought to plant her arrows so close they touched, hitting the target in perfect geometric patterns.

**_Yeah, Kaldur's been off his game for days. _**She thought, heading towards the target to inspect her handiwork. **_That training session with Canary was a joke. _**

Conner frowned, tightening a bolt on one of the team's motorcycles in the hanger, sphere beeping quietly behind him as she rolled closer to watch. **_I know something's wrong, but he looked alright at practice. _**

**_And why are _****you ****_complaining? You won the match! _**Wally silently exclaimed. He dropped his pencil on the desk and got into one of the drawers, rummaging through a layer of empty wrappers to find one that still held it's protein bar.

Artemis ran her fingers over the target, checking the amount of space she still had to eliminate between the heads of her arrows. **_You weren't the one fighting him. _**She thought irritably at him.

The biggest gap was about a half inch, but most were less than a quarter inch. Together, they formed four squares (one of which was skewed to the left), two filled triangles, and a somewhat lumpy circle she'd yet to perfect.

**_Not bad Arty! _**Robin commented watching his friends through the hacked security cameras.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile, knowing he was watching.

Her eyes narrowed however when she began to retrieve the arrows from the target. **_You didn't fight him Wally. _**She thought grimly. **_He put up a good front, but he _****let ****_me win._**

**_Why would he do that?_** Conner wondered at them.

In the kitchen, M'Gann shook her head as she rinsed another dish in the sink. **_I don't know. _**She thought back. **_But even before he went to Atlantis last week, he seemed kind of sad. _**

**_Homesick. _**Robin supplied.

M'Gann nodded. **_That's it. But since he came back he just seems so…_**

She floundered, trying to find the right words. **_…I don't know, he just feels so _****crushed.****_ I don't know how else to describe it. It's weird. He's sad and disappointed, and if I didn't know better I'd almost say he lost someone, like maybe they moved away. Or went somewhere he couldn't follow. But at the same time he's happy too. Not for himself, the happiness is for someone else. But the emotions are so strong I feel as if his heart's going to break! _**

Conner set down his wrench, patting sphere before reaching for a grease rag. **_So who's got an idea? _**He asked, wiping his hands.

**_I already tried talking to him, but I'm not the one he needs right now. _**Robin thought back. He downsized his holo-computer for a moment and pulled a dark red phone from his pocket, firing off a quick text before pulling up the computer again.

For lack of something better to do, he began hacking the league system.

Artemis dropped another arrow in her quiver, frowning. **_The one he needs…? _**She repeated.

**_When you're hurting, there are just some people you instinctively reach for. _**Wally answered, using the same explanation Robin had once used on him.

He winced, remembering his own experience with this phenomena. He'd found himself turning to Robin (or Dick Grayson if he was in civvies), often calling or texting him at all hours of the day or night while he recovered in the safety of his Aunt and Uncle's care.

Robin knew things about him no one else did.

He picked up his pencil again, resuming his homework at a more normal human pace. **_It's not that Kaldur doesn't trust us, he does. It's just that…well, like Rob said, we're not the ones he _****needs.****_ He might come to us eventually, but he'd open up to that other someone a whole lot faster. _**

**_So, who does Kaldur need? _**M'Gann asked, levitating those dishes that had already been dried into the various cupboards while she dried those still in the sink.

_He rocks in the tree top, all the day long. Hoppin' an' a boppin' an' a singin' his song..._

Robin downsized his holo-computer before scooping up his phone and flipping it open, abruptly ending the cheerful song. He grinned as he read the text. **_No worries folks, that bill won't be hard to fill. I've got him on the other end of the line. Give me a few minutes to plot with him. If the rest of you could come up with some excuse for us to go to Star, that'd be great. _**

Artemis shrugged, dropping the last arrow in her quiver. **_That shouldn't be hard. Would a team bonding exercise work? _**

**_That'd be _****perfect. **Robin agreed, answering the text and returning to his hacking.

A plan was forming in the back of his mind, and he was going to need temporary control of some of the computer systems…

* * *

**Star City: September 9, 8:45 p.m.**

"Here, try some of this!"

Kaldur eyed the huge gob of pink fluff currently being held in front of him uncertainly. He'd seen Wally eating some, but then again he was almost positive Wally would eat anything if he was hungry enough. "What is it?"

Robin grinned, carful to hide the excitement, anticipating the mischief he'd be enacting later on that night. "Cotton candy." He answered.

Kaldur carefully took some, and Robin couldn't suppress a smirk at the thought that his poker face was a heck of a lot better than Wally's.

In the end, getting Kaldur to Star City had been relatively simple.

Artemis had been on patrol in Star the week before, and had seen posters for a street carnival. It hadn't taken long for the boy wonder to ascertain whether the carnival was still there and how late it was running.

It had been perfect for their needs.

From there, they had carefully set out the rest of their plan. Kaldur would never actively seek out help, and so they had to trick him into it. Once Robin had explained his idea, the rest of the team quickly grabbed shoes, jackets, and (in Artemis' case) civvies since she'd been practicing her bow.

The plan was simple, both in design and execution. They would soon learn whether it would pay off.

M'Gann was sent out to the beach to lure Kaldur back in, and of course Wally couldn't help but draw a joking reference between their trap and fishing.

He'd been rubbing the back of his head and giving Artemis a dirty look when Kaldur and M'Gann returned.

The bait of an evening spent enjoying a street carnival with his friends was swallowed, hook, line, and sinker, and it hadn't been long before Kaldur found himself clinging to the rail of a swiftly turning disk labeled the  
"Tilt-a-Whirl" with a happily screaming red headed speedster beside him.

Kaldur smiled and nodded politely.

While he enjoyed them from time to time, he wasn't overly fond of sweets, and this cotton candy stuff was incredibly sweet indeed. "I had thought cotton was inedible, and cultivated from a plant…"

Beside him Artemis laughed, leaning around Kaldur to snitch some of Robin's cotton candy, which he graciously allowed. "It is. They call this Cotton Candy because it's fluffy like cotton, but it's made out of sugar, thus it's candy."

Kaldur nodded. It made sense when explained that way.

Wally suddenly came running over, his speed just _under_ what would be considered an unnatural speed for a human. He stopped in front of them, all wide smiles, freckles, and shining eyes. "So what do you guys wanna do next?"

Conner shrugged, sharing some of his own Cotton Candy with M'Gann. As long as his friends were together, or as long as M'Gann was near, he didn't really care what they did next.

Robin laughed, handing Kaldur the cotton candy and passing a red and white bag of popcorn to Wally.

"Dibs on the Ferris Wheel!"

"Deal!"

The two took off, calling over their shoulders that they would save a spot in line for them, Wally calling them slowpokes of course.

Kaldur laughed as he watched the two of them race away, laughing and pushing at each other before one would dart away, leaving the other to chase after him.

Robin and Wally could always make him laugh with their antics.

The team's eyes lit up when they saw one of the first big, really genuine smiles they'd seen on Kaldur's face in some time. It seemed Robin's idea to lift Kaldur's spirits was going well.

Now if only he would fall into their trap to get him talking, and accept the help and comfort that was offered.

Kaldur looked to Artemis, Conner, and M'Gann. "Shall we go?" he asked with a soft smile.

Artemis laughed and linked her arm through Kaldur's so that they parodied Conner and M'Gann's pose, though where Conner and M'Gann were clearly a couple, it was just as clear that she and Kaldur were just good friends.

"We shall." She agreed.

* * *

**Star City: September 9, 10:30 p.m.**

Kaldur smiled contentedly as he walked along the darker sidewalks of Star City with his friends.

It had been a long evening, but thoroughly enjoyable.

For a short time, he had been able to forget…no, not forget. He could never forget Tula and Garth, or the love he held for them. He had instead managed to, somehow, put them to one side for a time.

But now as he walked along the dark sidewalks with his friends, the pain was slowly creeping back in.

Maybe it was the dark between each streetlamp, or the cool of the evening that had brought him back to this anguished mood, but the cheerful chatter of his friends could no longer buoy his spirits.

* * *

Robin watched Kaldur surreptitiously from behind his shades.

Those shades looked out of place here in the dark, but he really didn't have much of a choice. If anyone asked, he could always tell them that he had a rare eye condition that necessitated shades, even in this dusk.

He could see Kaldur slowly sinking back down into the anguish that had been so constant since his return from Atlantis. He looked to Wally and gave the barest of nods, grinning. Wally laughed and nodded back, ostensibly at a joke Artemis had just told.

**_Link established. _**M'Gann said silently into their minds. **_Minus Kaldur of course…I still don't like doing this. _**

Robin smiled, then pretended to feel his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, reading the imaginary text before sending off a real text to alert their fisherman that the fish was almost ready. All the team had to do was net him.

Then they would leave it up to the fisherman to reel him in.

Arriving at the hidden entrance to the zeta tube, Robin made the first move. Giving off his trademark cackle, the boy wonder darted forward into the zeta tube, childishly sticking his tongue out at Wally as he did.

"Beat you Wally!" he cackled before the brilliant light of the zeta enveloped him.

"Dude, that is _so _not fair!" Wally whined, jumping in after him.

Again the flash of light. Artemis rolled her eyes and stepped in. After her came M'Gann, then Conner.

Finally, it was Kaldur's turn.

The Atlantian stepped forward into the zeta tube and stood still, patiently waiting for the flash of light that would take him back to the mountain. Nothing happened. Kaldur frowned, that was odd.

He waited a few moments more, but still nothing happened.

Kaldur stepped out of the zeta then back in. The zeta yielded no better result. He stood outside the doors, scrutinizing it thoughtfully. The zeta didn't look damaged. Perhaps there had been some sort of damage done to the tube at the other end?

He tried keying in a new destination.

Still, nothing.

"I'm pretty sure that phone booth hasn't worked in years. Maybe you should find a different payphone for your late night phone call."

Kaldur whirled in surprise, one hand reaching behind his back and up underneath his jacket for one of his water bearers. Even in civilian garb, he always wore his pack.

He was surprised to find that his unwanted visitor was up on the roof!

After a moments scrutiny, he relaxed. The interloper was carrying a bow and, unless Kaldur's eyes were deceiving him, the man appeared to be dressed in red.

"Hello Red Arrow."

Red Arrow's eyes widened behind the white lenses of his domino mask. "Kaldur?" He slowly lowered his bow, dropping down into a crouch on the edge of the roof. "What are you doing here in Star?"

Kaldur gave the zeta tube what approximated on him as a dirty look, on anyone else it would've been a very slight grimace. "There are no missions scheduled for this week. Artemis knew of a street carnival here in Star City, so…"

Red Arrow chuckled. "So the team thought it'd be fun and dragged you along for the ride, is that it?"

Kaldur gave a soft laugh and nodded. "It was fun." He agreed. "But that is essentially correct."

Red Arrow grinned, his eyes sweeping the alley. "…where are the others?"

Kaldur gestured to the zeta tube, allowing some of his frustration to show through. "They went through before me. It seems that there has been a malfunction somewhere in the system, as I am unable to get through."

Red Arrow frowned and hopped down off the roof. "That's weird. Let me try." He stepped into the zeta tube and, just like Kaldur, the tube remained completely lifeless.

There was a soft buzzing sound and he fished a plain black cell phone from a pouch on his belt, checking the number before answering it.

"Yeah." There was a few moments silence as he listened to whoever it was on the other end, then he nodded. "Already there….yeah, I just happened to stumble across him….So what's wrong with the tubes?"

There was a much longer silence as whoever it was on the other end apparently explained the current difficulties. At the end he shrugged. "…Listen, figure things out on your end, I'll handle this one….no, I don't mind…You're welcome. Keep in touch." He flipped the phone shut and returned it to the pouch on his belt.

"What seems to be the problem?" Kaldur asked.

Red Arrow turned back to face the Atlantian. "Bad news Kal. Seems there's a virus loose in the zeta systems, none of them are working. You're essentially stuck here until Rob and the other computer geeks can run it to ground."

Kaldur nodded and quietly took a seat against the alley wall, apparently settling in for the wait. "Very well. Did Robin give any estimate on when they might accomplish this?"

Red Arrow shook his head. "Not tonight at any rate." He answered. "Come on, you can crash at my place, I'm not leaving you in this alley all night."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "I would not wish to impose upon your hospitality." He answered. "And I am quite capable of looking after myself should the need arise."

Red Arrow rolled his eyes, Kaldur couldn't see it due to the mask, but he knew it nonetheless.

He knew the man beneath the mask all too well. "I know you can Kal, but I'm offering anyway. The couch is open, and it's gotta be better than spending your night out here."

Kaldur was silent for a moment, then nodded his agreement. "Very well."

Red Arrow grinned and offered his hand. "Great, then let's get moving."

He hauled Kaldur back up onto his feet and led him to a nearby fire escape. The two had crossed three rooftops when the sound of a man yelling, laughter, and breaking glass caught their attention.

The two turned as one toward the sound.

They soon found it was a gang, breaking in the windows of a late night liquor store. The owner was trying to stop them, but honestly, one against ten just weren't good odds.

Red Arrow was silent for a long moment, assessing the scene, then he smiled at Kaldur. "You up for a little late night rough house Kal?"

Kaldur smiled and silently slipped out of his jacket and shoes, leaving him in a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and his pack. It wasn't his uniform but the color scheme was close enough, it would do for tonight.

He gestured to the vandalism below. "Shall we?"

Red Arrow merely grinned, and fired.

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 9, 10:58 p.m.**

"Hey, how goes the fishing?"

_"Already there."_ Roy's voice said on the other end of the line.

Robin grinned. He turned and gave his team mates a thumbs up. "That was fast. You really _are _worried about him aren't cha' Roy?" he teased. He heard Wally snicker behind him.

_"Yeah, I just happened to stumble across him."_ Roy answered. It sounded as though he was hiding his irritation at Wally very well.

"Think he suspects?" Robin asked.

"Wait, so you're telling me we just handed Kaldur over to _Red Arrow_?" Artemis exclaimed behind him.

_"So what's wrong with the tubes?"_ Roy answered.

Ah, that meant this phone call was definitely being made in Kaldur's hearing range. 'So what's wrong with the tubes' was code for you better be _really_ good at shooting the bull.

Thankfully, Robin was.

"Ok, I've hacked the Mountains systems and jumped from them into the league's systems. To anyone else, it's essentially going to look like a virus got loose in the zeta tube network. As soon as I hang up with you, I'm going to get in touch with the league and call their attention to it. If I'm lucky, no one but Batman'll see what I did, and normally he won't call me out in front of the league. I might be grounded for this, but if it works it'll be worth it."

He heard Roy harrumph on the other end of the line, and Robin idly wondered how hard it must be to pretend to be cranky all the time.

_"Listen, figure things out on your end, I'll handle this one." _The redhead stated.

Robin chuckled, that basically translated out as code for 'wish I could help, but you're on your own with Batman. Good luck!' He honestly couldn't blame the archer in the slightest.

"Thanks a lot…" he grumbled good naturedly.

_"No, I don't mind" _Roy answered.

Robin shook his head, laughing. If Kaldur _still _didn't suspect anything then Roy must've been a prince amongst poker faces. No one rivaled Batman.

"Hey Roy? Thanks for doing this. Really."

_"You're welcome. Keep in touch."_

The line went dead on the other end. Robin smiled and flicked his phone shut. Kaldur was where he needed to be now.

"I'm telling you Arty! Red Arrow's going to take good care of Kaldur! They're best friends!" Wally yelled.

That did prompt a laugh from Robin. He hit the first speed dial on his phone and put it to his ear again. Catching hold of Artemis' elbow he said calmly, "Artemis don't worry, Kaldur's in the best of hands. Now if you and Wally would keep your voices down, I'm trying to talk on the phone."

Artemis whipped around, dark eyes flashing.

"And who's so important on the other end of that phone?" she growled, not in a very charitable mood.

She and Roy didn't tend to get along very well. Whereas fights between her and Wally tended to be more needling at each other, fights between her and Roy were a little more real. It hadn't happened yet, but no one would've been surprised to see them trade blows.

Robin grinned when the man on the other end of the line answered. "Batman, we've got a little bit of a problem."

Both Artemis and Wally immediately shut up, mouths closing with an audible click.

Robin gave them a triumphant smirk then turned his back to them, putting one hand over his unoccupied ear. "No, Artemis and Wally were arguing. That's not why I called."

On the other end of the line an elderly male voice laughed. "_I trust you will explain this to me in full at a later date?" _Agent A asked.

"Yes sir."

_"Very good then. Now, please explain this small difficulty you spoke of and I will relay the information to Batman, along with a stern admonition not to leave his phone behind in the Bat Cave in the future." _Agent A answered. _"I have a pen and paper close at hand." _

"Yes sir." Robin answered dutifully, as if he were reporting to Batman.

He knew that Conner could probably hear both ends of his conversation and would know for a fact that it wasn't Batman on the other end of the line, but he also had a sneaking suspicion that Conner wouldn't out him either.

"We were coming back from Star City when the zeta tubes went down, with Kaldur still stuck on the other side in Star. I've checked the zeta networks and it looks like there's a virus loose in the system. I'm trying to run it down but I figured the more people hunting this thing the better, I don't know how many zeta tubes it's affected."

That was a lie, he knew that there would be exactly fifteen tubes down all throughout the world, and that with the exception of the one in Star City, they would never go down in a city a hero was currently at work in.

_"And what of young Aqualad?" _

Robin had to work _really _hard to keep the image of a mini Kaldur toddling around the mountain, waiving a water bearer like a rattle, out of his head.

"We've got that covered. Red Arrow's been called in and he said he'd be willing to let Kaldur stay at his apartment for the night if need be…"

* * *

**Star City: September 9, 11:28 p.m.**

"I don't have much in the fridge but you're welcome to it."

Kaldur gazed around the apartment, smiling a little. It was very much Roy. He followed the redhead into the kitchen. "No, thank you my friend, I do not require anything."

Roy had opened the fridge and was now pulling a dark brown bottle out. "You sure?"

Kaldur firmly shook his head no.

Roy frowned and followed the Atlantian's gaze to the bottle in his hand. He chuckled and shook his head. "You can put that disapproving look away, this's just root beer. Between you, Wally, Robin, and Dinah all threatening to come and kick some sense into me if I ever did _that _again I've got more than enough incentive to stay clean."

Kaldur nodded, relaxing and letting his relief show through ever so slightly.

Roy had been very reckless in one of his rebellious stages. If Kaldur never had to deal with a drunk and or high Roy ever again, he would be eternally grateful.

He _never _wanted to see the proud red head reduced to that state again.

Roy had sauntered over to the counter and fished down a glass. He filled it at the sink and passed that to the Atlantian, knowing that Kaldur generally preferred water. From there the two made their way into the living room and settled in on his ratty but still relatively comfortable couch.

At first they watched T.V., but they soon fell into talking and telling stories.

And when Kaldur's stomach rumbled during one of Roy's stories- mortifying the proper, well mannered Atlantian- Roy merely laughed and took him back to the kitchen.

He taught Kaldur how to make grilled cheese, laughing when Kaldur accidentally smudged a bit of bright yellow butter on his mocha colored skin.

When Kaldur flushed and tried to wipe it away, only smearing more across his cheekbone for his trouble, Roy only laughed harder and tossed him a damp rag while he continued to grill their sandwiches on the stove top.

Once the sandwiches were finished the two returned to the living room couch, settling in to watch more T.V. while their mouths were full.

Roy really didn't mind talking with his mouth full, but he knew that Kaldur would never do it and he didn't want him to feel like he had to choke down the sandwich to answer Roy.

So he kept his mouth shut.

Once their impromptu dinner had been finished, the plates set on the coffee table to be picked up at a later date, Roy judged the timing right. Now he just had to give Kaldur a little push.

Which was harder than it sounded, as Kaldur was a very perceptive person and could usually tell what those around him were getting at.

"So how've you been?" he asked, lazily leaning his head against the corner of the sofa, eyes locked on the screen. Somehow, they'd ended up on a channel that was showing _Flipper_, the one staring Paul Hogan and Elijah Woods.

He wasn't entirely sure how they'd ended up watching that, they'd just sort of silently agreed to it somewhere along the way.

On the other end of the couch, Kaldur gave an all but invisible flinch. He quickly mastered himself. "I am well."

Roy tilted his head a little to look at his friend out of the corner of his eye. "Well that sounded convincing." He answered dryly. "Put a little more effort into it and you might convince me I need to breath to live."

When Kaldur made no reply Roy opened his eyes farther and sat up, turning to face him. "Kal?"

"When I returned to Atlantis last week I found that some…changes, had been made. I am still attempting to come to terms with them." Kaldur answered, using the same explanation he'd offered Robin.

Roy cocked his head, eyes narrowing. "You wouldn't be this upset about just anything. So whatever changed must've been really important to you." He said shrewdly. Cupping his jaw in his hand, he rested his elbow on the back of the couch. The volume on the T.V. was turned down, and Roy gave Kaldur his full and undivided attention.

"Shoot."

To anyone else, Roy's approach would've seemed like the height of brashness, lacking in every subtlety known to man. But the truth was, Roy just didn't _do_ subtle.

And in this case, he didn't need to.

Kaldur was silent for several long minutes, grey eyes calculating as he watched Roy across the couch from him. Roy didn't say a word, waiting with the patience of a saint while Kaldur made up his mind on what and how much he wanted to tell Roy.

Getting his thoughts in order.

"I have become somewhat…estranged, from my two closest friends below the surface." He said slowly. Roy made no comment, allowing Kaldur to tell the story at his own pace. "I had become distracted here on the surface. My heart longed for home. When my distraction left my team vulnerable on a mission against Clay Face, Batman sent me home. He told me that I needed to sort out my feelings, that I had to make a choice. He was right. And I went."

Kaldur winced. "My two closest friends below the surface are Garth and Tula. I have known them for many years. I have loved Tula almost as long…"

Slowly, the story of how he had considered leaving the team and returning to his studies with Tula and Garth unfolded. He told of learning that King Orin and Queen Mierda had finally conceived, and of how Tula had informed him after dinner that night that she had fallen in love with Garth. About Black Manta's attack on Poseidonis, the subsequent fight, and of his return home.

All throughout the story, Roy remained silent.

Kaldur sighed, propping an arm on his knee. "I know I should be happy for my friends, indeed, I _am _happy for them. But at the same time…" He looked away, tears welling in his eyes as he gazed down at the floor.

And that was what Roy had been waiting for. Kaldur's breaking point.

He quietly stood and moved closer to his friend. Kaldur raised a hand to his cheek, wiping at the tears then pulling his hand back to look at his finger tips, as though he wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

Roy had to work really hard not to smile at the confused look on Kaldur's face when he realized that Kaldur genuinely didn't know what tears were. Living in an underwater environment, Kaldur would've never seen tears on either himself or others.

He'd probably thought tears were just a surface dweller thing.

He settled on the couch beside Kaldur and pulled him into a brotherly hug. For a moment he felt the Atlantian stiffen, but he didn't loosen the firm hold he'd taken on his friend.

Then Kaldur relaxed into the hold, letting the last of his walls fall.

He cried freely against Roy's shoulder, his arms wrapping around the archer. He didn't try to stop the tears, he knew Roy would not judge him weak for shedding them. So he let them fall, letting the pain and hurt he'd carried since Tula's revelation wash away with his tears.

And all the time Roy was there, warm and comforting. The Archer said not a word, nor did he have to, his silent presence more than enough for what Kaldur needed.

He merely held him tight, his chin resting in Kaldur's short, pale hair.

Off to the side, the quiet, happy chattering of the dolphin on the screen seemed an odd counterpoint to the sadness the room currently held.

Eventually Kaldur quieted, and Roy was pleased to see that Kaldur had literally cried himself out, falling asleep against his friend's shoulder. Carefully re-arranging them so that they were laying back a little against the back of the couch, he snagged a blanket from under the coffee table with his foot and carefully draped it over the two of them.

He knew the blanket wouldn't really make a difference to Kaldur, having lived at the bottom of the ocean most of his life Kaldur didn't really mind the cold. In fact, Kaldur's skin was always quite cool, that was why _Roy_ wanted the blanket, and it didn't really seem fair to hog the covers. Even if he knew the other wouldn't really want or need it.

It was the principal of the thing.

He rested his chin on top of Kaldur's head again and closed his eyes.

He didn't know if Kaldur's problems were solved, in fact he strongly doubted it, you didn't get over a broken heart after just _one_ good long cry. Even if said cry _was_ made in the arms of a friend. But at least Kaldur had confronted his problem, and if Dinah were to be believed when she was on one of her 'counselor' shticks, that was a big part of the healing process.

Kaldur would recover with time.

Roy just hoped that one of these days Kaldur would find someone he could love as much as, or perhaps more than, he had loved this girl Tula. And that said future girl would feel the same way.

"G'night Kal…" he whispered.

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 10, 6:30 a.m.**

Robin stood before Batman in the living room.

The rest of the team watched from the kitchen, and they all had to admit they were impressed that Robin wasn't scared stiff.

The dark knight had arrived early that morning, demanding an answer from Robin as to why he had introduced a virus into the zeta tube network. Apparently he'd managed to track it back to Robin's holo-computer when he'd realized that the virus had parameters.

It stayed in the zeta systems, and it only affected zeta tubes that wouldn't need to be used, leaving the most commonly used ones and the computers that controlled the zeta network untouched. With the exception of the Star City tube, which had remained down the entire time.

He wanted to know what his son had been playing at.

Robin had reluctantly explained as best he could about Kaldur's apparent misery, what little he'd learned from the Atlantian on the beach, and of the team's plan to help him.

Batman was now scrutinizing Robin, the boy wonder could almost _picture _the arched eyebrow behind the cowl.

"And did your plan succeed?" he asked.

_Recognize. Aqualad. B. Zero. Two. _

"We're about to find out." Robin answered out of the corner of his mouth as he watched his friend emerge from the brilliant lights of the zeta tube.

Kaldur stopped in surprise at the sight of Batman, then obediently came forward like the trained soldier he was. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Batman gave Robin a look.

It seemed that the team's plan had worked, Kaldur's outlook seemed to have improve somewhat. This was the most cheerful the dark knight had seen the Atlantian in some time.

But he couldn't let Robin get away with introducing that virus into the systems.

"I came to pick up Robin." He answered Kaldur. "He's grounded for a week, as of now." To Robin he added, "You've got three minutes."

Robin nodded and darted into the kitchen. Kaldur frowned and followed.

In the kitchen, he found Robin apparently settling a bet with Wally.

"Dude, told you he'd only go with a week. The sentence is always lighter when it's for a good cause." Robin laughed, keeping his voice pitched low so his mentor wouldn't hear him.

Wally snorted. "And April Fools day on Uncle B's computer was a good cause?"

Robin grinned. "It is when your uncle took a shot at J'onn and nailed Batman instead! You should've seen his face when he got home that night, I thought Barry was a goner for sure!"

"Enjoy your sleepover?" Artemis teased.

Kaldur chuckled. "We talked a great deal." He answered, his tone letting them know that he had indeed enjoyed it.

"Gotta run!" Robin called, darting past him. His three minutes were apparently up. An instant later, the computer began to chime.

_Recognize. Batman. Zero. Two. Robin. B. Zero. One. _

Kaldur glanced back over his shoulder in the direction the boy wonder had gone, then looked back to his teammates. "Would one of you be kind enough to explain what Robin has done this time to earn such a punishment?"

He saw his friends stiffen and glance at each other, and even though there was no psychic link, he could easily read the message in the glance.

And that message immediately made him suspicious, because it read:

_Crap! Who wants to be the martyr and try to explain this one away?_

* * *

**Bat Cave: September 10, 7:01 a.m.**

"Am I grounded from being Robin, or is it just from the team?" Robin asked as they stepped from the zeta tube.

The dark knight paused, glancing at his son and protégé out of the corner of his eye.

"Why Red Arrow?" he asked, apparently disregarding Robin's question. "You and your team could just as easily continued to pry until he told you what was bothering him."

Robin shook his head. "Nah, that would've just made us pests. Sometimes there's more to being a family than just being there for them. Sometimes you have to know when it's not your presence, but your absence that's needed. We could've kept at him, but a lot of times you tell your friends things you'd never tell your family. We would've had to push and prod, but Roy's his best friend up here on the surface, and he'd 'ave been more willing to open up to Roy. We just had to trick him into going to see Roy."

Batman was silent for a long moment then made his way farther into the cave, black cape making him seem more a shadow that had somehow detached itself from the wall, rather than a man.

"You're only grounded from the team."

A smile lit Robin's face at that, and he narrowly resisted the urge to do a fist pump.

"And it's your responsibility to deal with that virus in the zeta systems. The Network's still cycling on and offline."

Robin laughed and nodded. "I'll get right on it!" he called, trotting over to the Bat Computer.

The virus wouldn't be too hard to deal with, he'd programmed it to self destruct provided you had the right password. Then all he had to do was correct whatever small changes had been made to the zeta tube programming.

He settled himself into the computer chair and keyed into the computer.

He hadn't been kidding when he'd told Roy that this grounding was worth it to him. As far as he was concerned, the team was his family, and he would've done a whole lot more to help Kaldur.

He smiled. "After all," he whispered. "this is what brothers are for…"

* * *

And there ya go fellas! Round 2 has been completed! Now who do you think should be _next_?

Review! Or else a certain ninja shall infest your computer!

Until next time...


	3. Emerald Emotion

Oh my gosh, so many people to thank!

Shout out's to the amazing: Sairey13, Remmy18, Reina Grayson, Secret00, ZigZaggy, DoggieFanNumber1, Aslgyrl, Pebble240, Can'tShutUp, BabyBlue3752! You guys all rock! Along with a cyber cookie for each of you (::), here is your reward for your amazing support!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Gotham Academy: December 23, 1:58 p.m.**

"And I'm going to ask Dan to the Sadie Hawkins Dance….who are you going to ask Artemis?"

Artemis gave an inaudible sigh. It was passing period. The two girls were headed to their last classes of the day. She usually enjoyed having a female friend in amongst all the males, but it was times like this that she wished it was otherwise.

Girls just knew all the wrong questions to ask.

She raised her head to look at her companion, the pretty, blonde haired Bette.

While both girls possessed slender figures and long blonde hair, Artemis knew from past experience hanging out with Bette around guys that she could never compare to the pixie-like curly haired wonder.

"Um…I don't know. I was thinking maybe Billie? Or Phil?"

Bette nodded thoughtfully. "I think Anna Marie asked Phil, but Billie's still free. When are you gonna ask?"

Artemis shrugged. "Meh, probably after school."

"K. Let me know how it goes!" Bette gave a little wave, stopping by the door to her math class. "Text me. Good luck Artemis!"

* * *

**Gotham Academy: December 23, 3:13 p.m.**

Artemis craned her neck, searching for Billie Marshall.

She grunted, shifting her heavy backpack on her shoulder. She'd already been to her locker. All she had to do now was find Billie, ask him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance so Bette and her mother and every other female friend of hers on the face of the planet would stop pestering her, and she could get out of here.

Spying a fellow classmate, she reached out and caught the girl's arm, wracking her brains for her name. "Hey, have you seen Billie?" she asked, unable to think of it.

The brunet nodded. "Down that way." She answered, pointing down the hall. "I saw him, Phil and Dan by the gym."

Artemis nodded her thanks and let go of the girls elbow, trotting off down the hall. She didn't want to miss him, then she'd have to go through the whole process of Bette nagging her via phone, her deflecting, and having to hunt Billie down _outside_ of school. She rounded the corner.

They weren't there.

Artemis sighed, leaning against the wall by the vending machine.

"So who are you hoping will ask you to the dance?"

Artemis stiffened. She hadn't missed them after all. Judging by the sound of their footsteps, they were coming out of the guys locker room. That girl, Amy Artemis now remembered, she must have seen them going in to get their gym bags.

That one that had spoken was Dan.

"Anna Marie already asked me, and Patricia says Bette's going to ask Dan." Phil added. "Who are you hoping for? Artemis?"

Artemis had been about to step out, but now she froze again. Her ears were attuned for the Billie's answer.

She didn't have long to wait, Billie's answer was almost instantaneous.

"What?" the third boy exclaimed in shock. "Heck no! That is _so _wrong on _so _many levels! No way would I go out with her, it'd be like kissing a dude!"

"Yeah… yeah, you're right." Dan agreed after a moment.

Artemis quietly bit down on the knuckle of her first finger, ensuring that she didn't make a sound and give herself away.

Billie. Dan…

"I guess." Phil agreed after a moment. "Most of the time, I forget she's a she."

"Exactly! It'd be so weird going out with her." Billie agreed. The sound of footsteps leading away toward the back doors came to Artemis's ears. But not before she heard one final parting shot from Billie. "Artemis is _definitely_ out of bounds. Just one of the guys…"

The blonde archer pressed further into the corner where the brick wall met the vending machine.

She stayed there, pressed as far back into the corner as she could manage. The sound of footsteps, both those of the three boys and of her other fellow classmates, faded away. The final bell rang, signaling the busses to go.

At last she stepped away from her pitiful little hideaway and made for the exit. She didn't like riding the bus anyway.

She'd go home, get her uniform, and head for the mountain. Maybe she'd take the zeta to Star City, bust in a few heads. Or maybe she'd just wear herself out in the Mountain's gym. All she knew was that she wanted to hit something. And she wanted to hit it hard. That, or she wanted to engage in a real good long cry. One or the other.

Maybe both.

As she shoved the door open, she felt a sting in her eyes that she hadn't felt in a long _long_ time. She dashed irritably at her eyes once, ridding herself of the slight bleariness on the bottom lids of her eyes.

But it didn't do much to alleviate the tightness in her chest, or the ache in her heart.

There weren't that many kids left outside the school, everyone tended to clear out fast on a Friday. The fact that this was the last day of school and they were now officially on Christmas break added wings to their feet. No one left.

Just a few unlucky buggers waiting for their parents to come and pick them up.

A few of the richer kids would be waiting for their personal chauffeur's, since their parents couldn't be bothered with their kids themselves.

Artemis was pretty certain most rich folks bought little kids that sort of looked like them, tagged their last name on the kid, paid other people to deal with them, and then used them as props at public functions.

Artemis shook her head as she stalked down the sidewalk, the death glare on her face ensuring no one messed with her. She could see several band nerds sitting at a picnic table next to the sidewalk, playing some sort of card game with a deck of cards.

And speak of the devil…

There on the sidewalk was one of those rich brats in the flesh. It was Mr. Wayne's little boy, the circus ward. Most of the kids in the Gotham City Academy called him a freak.

A gypsy half breed.

Some of the nicer ones called him the mini Einstein, due to his prowess as a mathlete. He was a little weird, but then again, Artemis really wasn't one to talk.

She doubted Richard Grayson had a Martian's cell number on his speed dial.

The Grayson kid glanced up curiously as she approached. With the exception of her first day of school when he'd run up and snapped a quick picture with her for no apparent reason, she'd never seen him up close outside of photographs. Face to face with him now, what stood out most about the child prodigy was the vivid blue eyes.

"What are you looking at?" she grumbled, pausing on the sidewalk a few feet away from him.

He cocked his head a little, reminding her of a little terrier that's heard a sound he can't identify, or seen something that puzzles him. She felt as if those brilliant blue eyes saw a heck of a lot more than he let on.

"Are you alright Artemis?" he asked, concern openly displayed.

She rolled her eyes and re-settled her bag, pulling on her tough girl exterior like a shield. That would fend the little brat off. If there was one thing the daughter of an assassin knew how to do, it was make herself cold and intimidating.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she growled. Her eyes narrowed as she added, "And what's it to you?"

He shrugged, not seeming the least bit concerned. "I don't know, I just… You looked upset is all." He chewed his lip uncertainly, then added, "Alfred and Bruce got caught in traffic downtown and won't get here for a good ten minutes. You wanna talk?"

It was tempting.

It was _really _tempting. And Artemis didn't entirely understand why. For whatever reason, she felt as though this kid _would _actually listen to her cares and, more amazingly, would probably give two hoots about it! But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was Artemis Crock, the tough girl, the one nobody messed with.

She wasn't gonna go crying to the adopted son of Bruce Wayne.

Her face softened a little and she shook her head. "Nah. Thanks anyway though." Glancing past him, she frowned. "Chauffer doesn't get here for another ten minutes you said?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

She nodded past him. "Because they're eyeing you like you're a snack."

The band nerds had disappeared, to be replaced with a herd of bullies. All of said bullies were currently eyeballing the Grayson kid. It was pretty common knowledge that Richard Grayson was a pushover.

Where most of the Academy students had been through at least one basic self defense class outside of school, Richard had gone out for dance. Having seen him perform in the school musical, everyone had to admit he wasn't half bad.

But being a semi decent dancer didn't mean squat against an attacker.

Grayson made a face. "Yeah, they're probably after my laptop again." He shrugged. "Along with whatever else they can get their hands on. The Powers kid knows a fence who can get rid of the stuff for them, so it's not like they ever get caught with the goods." Catching Artemis's surprised look, he grinned. "I'm a _circus_ kid, remember? I may not be much of a fighter, but I'm nowhere near as naive as most of our classmates."

Artemis couldn't help but snort out a laugh at that. "I didn't think it was possible to grow up naïve in Gotham, but these kids sure take the cake." She agreed.

She glanced at her wrist watch.

Ten minutes wouldn't make much difference. She could go beat something up later, and this was the least she could do for the kid to thank him for his concern.

She said under her breath. "After trying to jump me last week, they know better than to mess with me. I'll hang around till your ride gets here."

He gave her a surprised look. "You don't have to do that!"

She smirked. "Meh, I'm bored. And besides, it'd be a shame to let the prettiest little dancer in the school get creamed."

He laughed, not seeming offended by the 'pretty' comment in the slightest.

They spent the next several minutes talking about their school, the classes they had to take or wanted to take, and the people they had to take classes with. True to his word, the black limo pulled up in front of the academy exactly ten minutes later on the dot.

An elderly gentleman climbed out of the car and opened the door for Richard.

Not missing the fact that he neglected to thank her, Artemis turned to leave. Whether born that way or adopted into it, rich kids were all the same.

"Artemis?"

She paused, glancing back. Richard was standing by the car's open door, the all too familiar face of Bruce Wayne visible beyond him in the back seat.

The boy gave her a shy smile. "Do you want a ride home? Bruce said it'd be alright to give you a lift."

"Um, I kind of live in a less than stellar neighborhood." She hedged.

The elderly gentleman chuckled. "Young lady, through Master Wayne's various charitable activities, I have driven a good majority of Gotham's 'rougher' districts without incident. I assure you we will be quite alright."

Artemis glanced at her wrist watch again. It would help make up for lost time, and her heavy backpack was killing her. She smiled and shrugged. "It's your gas mileage."

* * *

**Mount Justice: December 23, 4:05 p.m. **

Artemis gave a yell of frustration, bringing her foot down on one of the padded targets in a vicious drop kick that probably would've broken bone in an actual fight. Without missing a beat she whipped around and delivered a round house kick to another target before delivering a punch to a third.

Finishing out with a final round house kick to the second target again, she paused to take a break.

Richard, Mr. Wayne, and their butler Alfred had dropped her off right in front of her apartment building. And Richard _had _thanked her before she got out of the car. That kid was fast changing her opinion of the rich. Between him and his father, she was beginning to believe that maybe not all of the city's rich were the stuck up snobs and spoiled brats she'd thought they were.

Her mother hadn't been home, and she had been quick to ditch the backpack and grab her uniform.

In the end she had decided to come to the mountain. Star City was Green Arrow's territory, and while she was his protégé she didn't want to intrude on that territory by going without him.

So she had come here, and all the anger and hurt from before had come flooding back.

She took another gulp from her water bottle, capped it, and attacked the padded targets yet again. Slender chunks of her long blonde hair had come loose from her pony tail, but she ignored them, irritably blowing them out of her eyes as she rained her fury down on the targets.

"Just. One. Of. The. Guys!" she gritted out with each angry blow. She gave an furious scream and kicked the top segment of the padded target _off_.

"Um…Artemis?"

She froze where she stood, then glared over her shoulder. She'd been half expecting to see Wally there, but no, it was only Robin. The young ninja was just standing there in the doorway, watching her. Could her day get any worse? What a crappy start to her Christmas break.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Artemis sighed. "Isn't it a little obvious?"

He chuckled. "A little." He agreed. "You're definitely not 'traught'… what's wrong?"

For the second time that day, the blonde archer found herself fighting the urge to just come clean and tell someone her troubles. And for the second time that day she found herself clamping down on those urges, burying her problems behind a stony façade.

"Nothing's wrong Robin." She answered, looking away. "It's just something I've got to deal with on my own."

"You sure?" Robin asked softly.

She nodded. "Yeah…"

* * *

Robin leaned back against the wall of his bedroom.

On the holo-screen floating above his wrist was the hallway security footage of the Gotham Academy. The cameras in his school were pretty high-tech, each one equipped with a mini microphone after an incident a few years back. The mic's weren't great, but they would do in a pinch, and those boys hadn't been trying to be quiet.

He sighed. So that was what it was all about. "One of the guys." He growled.

He clicked the computer off after checking to make sure Artemis was still in the gym. From the looks of things, she was still abusing the gym equipment to the best of her ability. Which meant that there were a couple pieces they were going to have to repair and or replace when she was done.

But what to do about her problem?

* * *

**Happy Harbor: December 23, 4:46 p.m. **

_If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him. I'd play a song that would never, ever end. How I'd love, love, love. To dance with my father again..._

"Just a second M'Ga- gah, sorry _Megan._" Zatanna shook her head as she used the wrong name for the Martian. Flushing furiously at the ringtone, she fumbled her cell phone out of her pocket.

M'Gann reached out and took the grocery baskets from her friend, freeing her hands to make it easier for her to answer her phone.

Zatanna hurriedly silenced her phone and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?...Oh hi Robin!...No, I don't have any plans…. I'll ask." She covered the end of her phone and looked to M'Gann. "Do you have any plans for tonight? Robin has some sort of scheme going."

The Martian shook her head. "No, I didn't have plans. But what sort of scheme did he have in mind?"

Zatanna took one of the baskets back and the two headed for the checkout. "Rob, I'm putting you on speaker ok?" She waited for an affirmative, then clicked the speaker on. "Ok, so what exactly are you planning on having us do? And why aren't you dragging Wally into this? He's usually the one you scheme with."

Robin's laughter filtered through the phone's tiny speaker. "Who says I'm scheming?"

Zatanna chuckled. "You're always scheming." She answered.

More laughter from the other end of the line. "The gig tonight is to help Artemis. She's had a pretty bad day and half the gym equipment is wrecked. And before you ask, yeah, it's that bad. I'm not even joking."

Both girls looked at each other in alarm. Grim looks quickly overcame them, and both nodded.

"We're in." they chorused together.

"Good." Robin answered. "I'll get in contact with Raquel next. We'll need her too if we're going to pull this off." They could practically see the gleeful look on the boy wonder's face as he got into what he was doing. "Ok, here's what I need you to do…"

* * *

**Mount Justice: December 23, 5:45 p.m.**

"You know what to do?" Robin whispered.

The three girls nodded, grinning. "We got it." Raquel answered back confidently. All three girls were in nice casual clothes, perfect for the nights plans. "You call her mom?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, she's good with it." He passed a small silver object, about the shape and size of an antique pocket watch but thicker, to Zatanna. He grinned. "You're up Miss M."

M'Gann's eyes glowed silver green for a moment. **_Link established. _**She said into the minds of the two other girls.

**_I hear ya girl. _**Raquel thought back, grinning.

**_Loud and clear. _**Zatanna agreed.

M'Gann nodded to Robin. "Everyone's online." She told him. "We're all set to go."

Robin grinned. "Asterous." He pulled up his holo-computer. A few quick flicks of his fingers had the security footage of the Mountain's gym up on screen. Artemis was still going strong, though the amount of arrows buried in the centers of the archery targets indicated that she had switched from one form of combat to another at least once.

He downsized it again. "She's still in the gym. And she hasn't lost any steam." He grinned. "Good luck."

* * *

"Artemis?"

Artemis groaned. She was half tempted to just head-but the nearest rock wall as hard as she could to put herself out of her misery. She brushed the long sweaty strands of escaped hair back out of her face.

"…yeah?"

Zatanna smiled. "Raquel invited us all for a girls night out. We couldn't get a hold of you on your cell, so we came to see if you wanted to join us." Seeing that Artemis was getting ready to refuse, she added, "Besides, unless you plan on throwing weights around or using Robin's equipment, there's not much more you can do here."

Artemis sighed. "Yeah, you're right." She fished her cell phone out of her belt. "Just let me call my mom and make sure it's ok with her."

It didn't take her long to reach her mom. Turned out she'd already missed two calls from her mother already. After obtaining her mother's blessing, it was one quick shower and a change of clothes later that she and the other girls were zeta beaming out of there.

Robin gave a soft laugh as he watched them go. "And…. Operation 'Hit and Run' is a go!"

* * *

**Dakota City: December 23, 6:15 p.m. **

"This actually looks pretty cool."

Raquel grinned, proudly settling her hands on her hips as she and the three other girls surveyed the room. "Told ya it'd be fun! This place is a little off the beaten path, but I like it. The music's not so loud you go deaf, the staff is awesome, and the food's not half bad. In my opinion, it's the perfect teen club."

Looking around, Artemis couldn't help but agree with Zatanna.

The place actually was pretty cool looking. Painted only in deep blues, blacks, and purples, the interior was naturally dark. The whole place was illuminated in black lights and brightly colored rope lights. Flecks of pure white paint covering the ceiling, walls, and floor reflected back the black lights. It gave the impression of moving through a starry sky. All told, the name seemed to suit the place.

The Wild Things.

M'Gann bounced ahead of them a couple steps, laughing. "Well? What are we waiting for?" Grabbing Artemis's hands, she started pulling her toward the dance floor. "Let's go have some fun!"

Artemis laughed, allowing herself to be led into the depths of the club. Her spirits were beginning to lift, her mood already much improved. Things were definitely beginning to look up!

"Right behind ya!" Roquel called, she and Zatanna following close behind.

* * *

"Here you go miss."

Artemis reached across the bar to accept the tray of drinks for her table. The Wild Things was a teen club, which meant that the strongest things they served were the various brands of pop. Not that she or any of her friends were drinking tonight. None of them really wanted to explain being drunk to their parents, guardians, or bosses the next day.

That and none of them really wanted the hangover.

"Thanks." She called over the music.

The blonde archer made her way back towards the table where she and her friends had decided to take a short break from dancing. She was almost back to the table when a hand caught hold of her elbow.

"Hey little girl. Mind if I take the next dance?"

She turned, wondering what on earth Wally was doing here. But it wasn't Wally. Just a dark haired party-goer with a similar voice. She glared at him, at the cocky self assured smile. One look at him, and she already knew what kind of guy he was.

Jerk alert, she thought irritably.

The idiot didn't show any sign of letting go of her elbow. His first mistake was laying a hand on her. His second was calling her 'little girl'. His third mistake? Not taking the oh so glaringly obvious hint. Boom. Strike three.

You're out.

Raquel leaned over to her friends, lightly elbowing Zatanna. "Don't look now, but here comes our first hit and run…"

Sitting across the table from her, M'Gann giggled. "He grabbed her arm…"

Zatanna finally spotted her friend and the young man in question. Said young man had a hold of Artemis's elbow. The raven haired girl shook her head. "Yep, he's toast."

Raquel chuckled as they watched the interaction. "There's the hit…"

Across the room, Artemis's face suddenly took on the cold, dangerous look of the assassin's daughter. She said something, the girls couldn't hear what, and the guy hurriedly let go of her and walked away.

"And, there's the run." Raquel finished, laughing.

Zatanna pulled the small silver device Robin had given her out of her pocket. She clicked a little button on the side and hurriedly stowed it away again.

"One down…" she chuckled to the others.

* * *

**Mount Justice: December 23, 7:38 p.m. **

Robin burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying the show on his computer screen.

"Well at least someone's here!" Wally exclaimed, trotting into the room. He shook his head as he came up behind Robin. "The place is like a tomb. Where is everybody? And what the heck did Artemis do to the gym? The place looks like a tornado went through."

Robin chuckled, hanging his legs over the armrest. "Artemis had some venting to do, she had a pretty stressing day. The girls all went on a mission to help her work out the stress, and Kaldur took Conner and Wolf outside to enjoy the beach."

Wally leaned over the back of the couch, peering curiously at the boy wonder's screen. "What you watching?"

Robin grinned. "The girls 'mission'."

Wally frowned. He leaned in closer to get a better look, and as the mess of dancing figures and wild lights began to make sense to his eyes, his jaw slowly dropped open. "Dude is that… _Artemis_? I thought you said they were on a mission!"

Robin laughed. "Not an official one." He clarified. "Here." His screen went into split screen mode, one half showing the interior of The Wild Things, the other showing the security footage from the Gotham academy.

The boy wonder let it play, and Wally couldn't help but wince at that last comment about Artemis being 'out of bounds' because she was 'one of the guys'. He might not have been the world's most brilliant mind when it came to dealing with women, but even he knew how hurtful that comment had to have been. That assessment was only strengthened when Robin showed him a couple clips of Artemis's venting.

He shook his head. "I had no idea."

Robin nodded. "Up until your birthday you were busy chasing M'Gann." He smirked. "Though after seeing the way you reacted in that debacle of a training exercise…"

Wally flushed and hurriedly changed the subject. "So, what's the mission you sent the girls on?" He could've sworn his jaw dropped about a foot after the boy wonder explained. "You told the girls to do what?!"

Robin laughed, purposefully ignoring Wally's shocked and slightly jealous expression. Something on his screen caught his eye and he hurriedly turned it towards Wally so his best friend could see. "Dude, check it out!"

Wally leaned in, watching as a guy moved in on Artemis, who was back out on the dance floor with the girls. To put it politely, the guy tried to cop a feel off her backside. _Tried _being the operative word. Both boys flinched as they watched their teammate make short work of the crude young man.

Wally whistled under his breath and Robin nodded. "Yep." Robin chuckled. "That guy is _really _not feeling the 'aster…"

* * *

**Dakota City: December 23, 7:45 p.m.**

Artemis glared down at the young man on the floor, before lifting her gaze to the ring of teens around her that had turned to watch. At first, they seemed shocked. Then, as word was whispered through the ranks about what had _prompted_ the violence, laughter quickly took it's place.

"Girl, you just did what most girls only _dream_ of doing to him." Laughed a pretty brunet as she approached Artemis and her friends. "That jerk's been pulling that same old routine for _ages_. You just struck a blow for the local womenkind." She laughed and held out her hand. "I'm Katherine, by the way."

"Artemis." The blonde archer answered, reaching over the prone, moaning form of her former tormentor. "These are my friends Megan, Zee, and Raquel." She added as her friends moved closer to meet the newcomer.

Katherine laughed, shaking hands with each one. "Hey Raquel, long time no see." She said when she got to the black girl. Some of his friends had come to drag the latest hit and run victim away and she smirked at Artemis. "Listen. What say you girls come with me to a little place down the street for dinner, I'll buy. It's the least I can do. You three can put your feet up and I can nag Raquel over here for a few minutes. We can come back here and dance our hearts out some more afterward. Sound cool?"

Artemis glanced at her teammates, checking to make sure it was alright, then she grinned and nodded.

"Cool." She agreed.

* * *

**Mount Justice: December 24, 1:05 a.m.**

_Recognize. Miss Martian. B. Zero. Five. Rocket. B. Zero. Nine. Artemis. B. Zero. Seven. Zatanna. B. Zero. Eight. _

The girls walked out of the Zeta tubes to the unique sight of Robin doing a one handed hand stand on the back of the couch. He craned his neck to grin at them, then calmly pushed off of the couch with his hand up into a flip, neatly sticking the landing.

"Bout time you girls got back. Believe me, I'm having to play every card I've got to get Agent A to run interference for me. Lucky Batman had civilian business, or I'd be sunk!"

"Sorry Robs, we ran into a friend of mine and…" Raquel paused, confused. "Wait a minute, who's 'Agent A'?"

Artemis patted Raquel's shoulder. "So far as anyone on the team can tell, that's essentially the code name for the Batman's dad."

The black girl gave her a stunned and somewhat creeped out look. "Batman _has _a dad? I just thought he sort of crept out from under a really heavy rock somewhere."

Robin burst into laughter. "He'd like you to believe that." He agreed. "How'd it go?" he asked.

Raquel pretended to snap to attention in a mock salute. "Mission Accomplished, sir!" There was about three beats of silence in which pretty much everyone raised an eyebrow at her.

At the fourth beat, she lost it.

"Wait, wait, wait! What mission?" Artemis asked, confused.

Robin smiled, fiddling with his computer. "Well, it was pretty clear when you came in today that you weren't 'whelmed. I mean, it's not every day you come in and make the gym resemble the path of a cyclone. So I did a little snooping." His eyes narrowed. "And I heard what those idiots said."

And, just like that, Artemis's good mood was officially slaughtered. She folded her arms over her chest irritably. "You had no right to snoop into my private life Robin." She growled.

Robin nodded. "I didn't." he agreed. "But when something gets _that _far under your skin, it's time for your friends to take a hand in the matter." He grinned. "So we staged an intervention!"

Artemis starred at him, then at the girls. She wasn't entirely sure she _shouldn't_ be afraid of those mischievous grins all of them were sporting. She turned her glare on Robin, knowing that no matter what the girls had done, he had been the ultimate mastermind.

"What, did you do…?"

Robin grinned and held up his screen. Onscreen was recorded security footage from The Wild Things, most of the shots displaying Artemis's encounters through the night. "Those idiots said you were 'off limits', just 'one of the guys'..." He shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure we just proved them wrong…" M'Gann giggled, pointing to a large red number in a box near the bottom of the screen.

Artemis frowned. "What's the number stand for?"

"That's the number of dudes that came up an' hit on you through the night." Raquel answered with a grin.

Artemis's jaw dropped. "…are you serious?"

Zatanna nodded. Pulling that small silver object out of her pocket, she waved it in the air in front of the stunned archer. "Robin gave us a counter, and M'Gann hooked the three of us up with a psychic link. Anytime any of us saw someone hit on you, I hit this little button and it automatically sent the count back to Robin." She chuckled, tossing the counter to the boy wonder, who caught it one handed with ease.

Robin grinned. "You rack up quite a body count." He teased.

Artemis felt her eyes brimming a little, and she really couldn't have cared less. A huge smile lit her face. With total disregard for the bird's dignity, Artemis scooped him up in the biggest bear hug she could manage. "I don't know how to thank you…"

He laughed squirming in her hold. "Not crushing me to death would be a _great_ start!" She set him down and he was quick to add, "Seriously though, we're all here for you Artemis. Whether you want us here or not!"

* * *

**Watchtower: January 1, 1:38 a.m.**

He had kissed her.

Wally West, _Kid Flash_, the irrepressible flirt and self-proclaimed ladies man had kissed her. Artemis smiled at the memory. He'd just picked her up at the stroke of new years and kissed her.

And now they were an official couple!

Wally slung his arm around her shoulders, grinning. "So babe, what now?"

Speak of the devil, she thought.

She grinned, wrapping her arm around his waist as they made their way toward the zeta tubes and home. If she'd had any doubt about her status as 'one of the guys', Wally had officially blown it out of the water. She didn't have anything to prove. Not to him.

He'd told her so himself.

A thought struck her and her smile widened. She pulled her new boyfriend to a halt and turned to look at him. "Wally? I've got a question…"

* * *

**Gotham Academy: January 7, 7:10 p.m. **

Artemis could feel the eyes of half the school on her as she and Wally entered the gym of Gotham Academy. It took everything she had not to blush like one of those airheaded little prissy girls.

Wally must have seen it, because he grinned, eyeing her appreciatively. "You look _fine_." He reassured, the way he said 'fine' letting her know that she looked more than _just _fine.

And he meant it. Dressed as she was in a jet black V cut dress that hugged her curves and ended just above her ankles she was, in his opinion, drop dead gorgeous. She'd even let her hair down for the occasion.

"Artemis, there you are!"

The blonde archer smiled as Bette hurried over, dragging Dan after her. Behind her came several of their friends, including Billie and Phil and their respective dates. She felt Wally's arm around her waist give her a reassuring squeeze, and she cast him a grateful smile.

The redhead grinned at her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You'll never be just one of the guy's to me." He breathed. "You're _Artemis_. And you've got _nothing_ to prove."

Bette was practically bouncing as she came hurrying up. "Oh my gosh, _Artemis_, who's your date? You've been so secretive about it and I've been going nuts trying to figure out who it is, and here you've gone and brought in a ringer!" She pouted a little at that last part. "I'm not entirely sure that's fair to amateur detectives like me…"

Artemis laughed. "Sorry Bette." She gestured to the redhead at her side. "Bette, this is Wally…"

She quickly ran Wally through the names of the various friends gathered around. She was surprised to see the Grayson kid hanging out near the edge of their group, apparently escorting a taller red headed girl. Artemis was pretty sure that was Commissioner Gordon's daughter, what was her name again…?

Not wanting to be rude, she motioned them closer. "Wally, this is Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne's ward. And this is…" Barbara! That was it, Barbara! "Barbara Gordon, the Commissioner's daughter." She finished, intensely thankful that she hadn't embarrassed herself.

To everyone's surprise, Wally laughed and shook hands with the smaller raven haired boy. "Hey Dick. Long time no see!"

"Wait, you two know each other?" Barbara asked, startled.

Richard laughed and nodded. "Yeah. We met at a competition a couple years back. He was supposed to be at the international science convention for students, but he got turned around and ended up wandering into my math competition instead. We hit it off pretty well."

Off to one side, Phil's date Anna Marie giggled and began to sing 'It's a Small World After All'."

* * *

Artemis sighed, lifting her hair off the back of her neck as she stepped from the warm gym out into the cooler spaces of the hallway. A quick sip at the drinking fountain, and she was ready to brave the mass of teenagers in the gym to get back to Wally. But as she was nearing the door, she heard something that made her pause.

"So what do you think of Artemis?"

She stopped near the doorway, cocking her head to listen. It was Phil.

Dan snorted. "When on earth did the duck become the swan?" he answered, sounding truly mystified. "That must've been one heck of a Christmas break!"

"You said it." Billie agreed. "If I'd known she was going to have that kind of turnaround I'd 'ave asked her to the dance myself, girls choice or no!"

Phil laughed, and from the light smack and the grunt, Artemis was pretty sure he'd elbowed Billie. "Stinks to be you Billie me boy." He laughed. "You had your chance. She's taken now, and from the way she and that red head keep looking at each other, you're not gonna get another one!"

"Unfortunately." Billie grumbled. "But one thing's for sure…"

"Yeah? What's that?" Dan asked curiously.

"Artemis is _definitely_ not just one of the guys…!"

* * *

Rofl, snooze you lose boys! Hope you guys liked this! The next one up, you've got your choice. It'll either be Zatanna or M'Gann. Your choice!

So Review fellas!

Until next time...


	4. White Whiplash

With the update of this chapter I will have officially updated all my in progress stories today! Yay me!

Shout outs to the oh so traught: Sairey13, Evening Raven, ariaT27, SevenSilences, Reina Grayson, AmaraRae, randomkitty101, LordOfTheBooks, Predaking Prime, aslgyrl, RJG Lover, hoot17, Linki, b00kw0rms, IcyWhiteParadise, Broken Antler in Winter, and guests! Cookies to you all! Most of you asked to see M'Gann next, so ask and ye shall receive.

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**M'Gann's Mind: September 17, 9:05 p.m.**

_"Ah ah ah, I didn't say Psimon says." _

_ M'Gann whirled, desperate to fend off the psychotic telepath. She wasn't fast enough. A blast of telepathic energy hit her from behind, slamming her hard into the red earth of her mindscape, a near perfect replica of her home planet of Mars. She scrambled to her feet, spitting the sandy red soil out of her mouth. She might love Mars, but not as a meal. _

_ "Come now, show me what you're _really_ afraid of…" Psimon said in a gentle, almost chiding manner. _

_ "My friends know who I am now, inside and out." M'Gann fought back, trying to push the encroaching darkness of his mind away. "You can't prey on fears that aren't there anymore!" _

_ "I can't." he agreed, his darkness starting to overwhelm her. "But it's not those fears I'm interested in."_

_ "I'm not afraid!" M'Gann yelled at him. _

_ "Silly child…" Psimon laughed. "When you vanquish one fear, another simply rises to take its place. There are _always_ fears…"_

* * *

**M'Gann's Mind: September 17, 10:15 p.m.**

_ "….is she ok…?" _

_ "..hard hit…" _

_ "…damage….head…?" _

M'Gann moaned. Her head hurt. It hurt really bad in fact. As if Conner had gone on a rampage and used the inside of her skull as a punching bag. Not that he would ever do that of course! The voices continued to float around her head, fading in and out. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was hearing these voices with ears or her mind.

And weirder still, they sounded familiar, as if she should know them.

She was floating in a black emptiness. It was cold, but that didn't bother her too much, Mars was cold too. That was why she could swim with the Atlantians at the bottom of the sea without fear of hypothermia. She blinked, or at least she thought she did. It was hard to tell when all she could see was dark.

It could've been just her imagination, but it seemed like there was a brief little ripple of color across black every time one of those voices broke the silence.

Then one suddenly broke through the others. _"Silence. I cannot reach her if she is paying attention to you." _

The other voices fell silent immediately, and M'Gann almost panicked. She'd thought the darkness was complete before until she'd noticed those ripples of color. Now she _knew_ the darkness was complete, and it scared her.

_"M'Gann." _A deep verdant green rippled across the darkness, and she got the impression that it was searching for her. _"M'Gann." _It called again.

The Martian tried to move, to reach out to it, maybe wave to get its attention. But her arms wouldn't move. Come to think of it, neither would her legs. M'Gann tried to turn her head to look, but it was like the rest of her body. She might as well have been cast in concrete. She fixed her eyes on that green color rippling off in the distance. She needed help, and that green could give it to her. She needed to get the green's attention.

**_Over here! _**She thought at it.

_"M'Gann." _It called again, as if it hadn't heard her.

**_It can't hear me! _**She realized in shock.

She focused on her target, making a conscious effort to reach for the mind that was surely represented by that wavering band of color. She could sense it there, but she couldn't touch it. Panic brushed it's icy cold fingers across her as she tried with more and more desperation to break past whatever it was blocking her. Nothing seemed to make it past.

_"M'Gann." _The green was moving farther away.

M'Gann was definitely panicking now. She was lost. If this green, whoever it was, left without finding her who knew when another might come? If at all.

_"M'Gann." _The green was almost beyond her sight now.

M'Gann made one last attempt. She didn't reach for the color. She didn't try to say a word, or move a muscle. She simply opened her mind and let her emotions burst forth in a single shout. Everything. Her fear, her desperation, her helplessness, and disorientation.

She couldn't see the green anymore, and she felt like crying. She hadn't been fast enough.

_"M'Gann?" _

Now M'Gann knew she was crying. They _had_ heard. Remembering how she hadn't been able to speak directly mind to mind, she released another burst of feelings and emotions. Fear. Desperation. And now, because she had been heard, hope.

The sinuous band of green wrapped around her comfortingly, like a long piece of green velvet ribbon._ "Relax M'Gann. _It said gently. _"I will guide you back." _

She relaxed her muscles, but she knew what it was he was asking. But she didn't hesitate to trust him. She let the defenses of her mind fall, allowing him access. She could feel him within her mind almost immediately, and she knew she had made the right choice.

A white light glowed to life, and the green drew her toward it.

She allowed it. This darkness was her own mind, compressed down into the barest essentials of what was her, hidden deep within her core. She couldn't escape on her own.

But she wasn't alone anymore.

As he drew her closer and closer to the white light that was consciousness, she remembered and understood more and more. Her eyes slowly opened, blinking in the glare of the brilliant lights shining down on her.

"Is she alright now?" Conner's worried voice asked.

She heard the green's voice, even as she felt someone tuck a blanket more firmly around her. But something was off. The blanket felt wrong against her skin.

"I don't know." J'onn J'onz's voice sounded tired.

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 17, 10:37 p.m.**

"How do you feel?"

M'Gann opened her mouth to say that she felt fine, but all that came out was a gargled, low throated sound. Her eyes widened and she looked to her uncle in surprise. That wasn't _right_. She tried again. Another deep chested sound came from her throat, this one closer to a growl. What was wrong with her throat? Her mouth?

"M'Gann." Her uncle said gently.

He caught her hands and lifted them up. She starred at them in shock. His hands were as they had always been. Strong hands, with green skin and five digits. The hands clasping his were wrong. They were pale. They were long, slender.

Longer than any hand on earth had a right to be.

M'Gann jerked her Martian hands from his, leaping to her feet. She desperately tried to shift, holding her hands out in front of her as she tried to rearrange them into the green, five digited hands she was accustomed to. But nothing happened. She looked to J'onn with panicked eyes. She tried to tell him that there was something wrong. That she couldn't shift. But unintelligible sounds were all that she could manage.

J'onn frowned as he watched her. "M'Gann, tell me what is wrong."

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. Right. Speak. Tell him what was wrong. She could do that. She opened her mind, trying to reach out to him. Trying to touch his mind. She couldn't do it. She could sense that he was there, and she could sense his emotions if she thought about it.

But she couldn't _speak_ to him.

M'Gann flung open the doors of her mind, allowing him to hear everything , she was thinking. J'onn frowned, eyes glowing brilliant orange as he entered her mind. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in a little 'o' of surprise as he finally understood her difficulty.

M'Gann couldn't help it. She laughed.

Her uncle was usually unflappable, it was pretty amusing to see him completely at a loss for once!

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 17, 11:01**

M'Gann shivered under their gaze.

"M'Gann suffered a blow to the head while combating Psimon." J'onn carefully explained to the rest of the team, with the exception of Robin, who was on a mission with Batman out of country. "It appears that this blow, combined with Psimon's tampering, has placed a block in M'Gann's mind between herself and the majority of her abilities. She is unable to change her shape, or density shift. Her telepathic abilities are extremely limited, and her telekinesis is completely disabled."

"Can't you do anything to help her?" Conner blurted out.

J'onn sighed. "I will be doing everything in my power to repair the damage done to her mind, but such a repair will take some time to enact, and only once I am certain of the exact nature of the damage. I have offered her a room in the watchtower where she will be close to other telepaths who will be able to hear her, but she has indicated that she would prefer to stay here with you." A worry he rarely displayed crossed his face. "Please, look after her. She will most definitely need whatever help you can offer."

M'Gann quietly watched him go.

She was scared, and though the league didn't have an abundance of telepaths, or even empaths for that matter, their presence would've made communication easier. But there was something here that she needed, and she needed it much more than she needed communication.

So she would stay.

_Recognize. Martian. Manhunter. Zero. Seven. _

A warm hand caught hers, wrapping the first knuckles of her fingers. There were very few times her team had seen her in this shape, though Conner had seen her this way more than most. She smiled a little. Conner always snagged her knuckles rather than her actual hand, but she had never minded really.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We'll make it through this, together." He promised.

She crouched, putting herself on eye level with him. Her long arms wrapped around him and she pulled him close. It felt odd, her being the larger of the pair. Usually he was the bigger one, and right now she wanted to curl into his strength rather than cling to it like a barnacle. But, it was what it was. She hugged him tight.

**_Together._**

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 20, 11:06 a.m.**

M'Gann was barely holding it together.

It had been three days since her clash with Psimon. And those three days had been the most frustrating days of her life. J'onn had devoted every spare moment he had to probing M'Gann's mind, trying find her mind's injury. But with Psimon still on the loose and Gorilla Grod trying to take over the world again, his talents as a telepath were desperately needed elsewhere.

_Recognize. Robin. B. Zero. One. _

She looked up curiously.

The boy wonder trotted through, laughing as he came. M'Gann smiled, she could sense his happiness at being back home. The mission with Batman was supposed to have only lasted one evening. Then Robin caught sight of M'Gann in the kitchen. He skidded to a stop in surprise, then grinned and trotted over to say hello.

"Hey!" he called. "What's up?"

M'Gann froze, shocked. _Surely_ someone had told him?

He stopped in front of her, cocking his head a little in confusion. "M'Gann? What's wrong?"

"She can't talk to you dude."

M'Gann breathed a sigh of relief as Wally darted into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. Wally could explain things to Robin. She returned her attention to the baking ingredients on the kitchen counter.

Now if she could just remember where she put that book…

"Someone gave her a whack on the head while she was fighting Psimon. Now there's a screw loose somewhere in her brain, and she can't access her powers. No changing shape, telepathy, density shifting, or moving things with her mind." Wally continued, tossing several slices of bread in the toaster and grabbing a box of doughnuts off the counter. "Why don't they ever make these things with more than four slots?"

"Moving things with your mind is called telekinesis Wally." Robin answered, stealing a doughnut from Wally's box. "And they only make four slots because four is all any normal person will eat. Why hasn't J'onn fixed her mind yet?"

Wally crammed a doughnut in his mouth. "But what if you're feeding a family? Don't they like have a family sized toaster to provide for a family's breakfast? Kids eat a lot you know! And J'onn's been trying, but he can't fix it until he figures out what Psimon _did_." He held up the box. " 'nother doughnut?"

Robin held up his own, indicating that he hadn't finished his first one yet. "Not everyone eats as fast as you do motor mouth… Maybe you could invent a family sized toaster. I'm sure families the world over will thank you from the bottoms of their under-stocked breakfast tables." He took a bite of doughnut. "I take it J'onn's been busy cleaning up after Psimon and Gorilla Grod?" Wally nodded and Robin looked to the Martian. "Man, I'm sorry M'Gann, that's a _really_ bum rap. How have you been communicating with the team?"

"With a lot of patience and frustration on both sides." Wally answered with a grin. "We're all getting _really _good at charades… And those families probably _will_ thank me! Can you imagine how long it would take to make toast for a family with a whole passel of kids?"

"Passel, that's a fun word." Robin chuckled. He calmly plucked the cookbook from its hiding place on top of the fridge and passed it to M'Gann.

"I thought so." Wally agreed. The toast popped up and he was quick to replace those slices with four new ones. He finally took note of the cooking supplies on the counter and his face softened. "Oh M'Gann…You're not trying to cook again are you?" M'Gann turned her face away from him. He sighed. "Believe me, I'd love to see you having fun and cooking up a storm in here again… I'd love to eat the results of that storm! But… haven't we already seen that you can't _make_ that kind of storm anymore?"

M'Gann gave an angry growl and snatched one of her mixing bowls closer.

She awkwardly fumbled open the egg carton with her two long slender fingers, the semi blunt claws on the tips of them poking holes in the cardboard. Grabbing an egg between the tips of those fingers, she brought it back to the bowl and tried to crack it on the edge. The egg practically exploded with the excess force she used, the white and the yolk splattering all over the bowl and the table with the shell fragments.

Silence fell over the kitchen like a thick, oppressive blanket.

M'Gann slowly lifted her hand, the long syrupy strings of egg dangling from her long fingers. She looked at her friends, and all she could see was pity on their faces. With a mournful wail she turned and fled the room, running right past a startled Conner and the rest of the team.

"M'Gann?" Conner peered into the kitchen, took one look at the cooking supplies and understood. He raced after her, a determined look on his face.

Kaldur sighed as he and the rest of the team entered the kitchen. "These last few days have been… difficult, for all of us. But they have been most frustrating for M'Gann. There is much that her form will no longer allow her to do."

Zatanna nodded. "She has to duck to go through every door, she can't cook…" she winced. "She can't even spar with us anymore. That Martian form is all arms and legs, really easy to trip up."

"We tried to find some sort of artsy craftsy thing to keep her occupied but…" Artemis winced. "When you've only got two super long fingers and a thumb that's halfway to your elbow, it doesn't leave you a lot of options."

"Well, what all have you tried?" Robin asked curiously.

The team was giving him a rundown of the last three days when Conner dejectedly entered the room.

"She's locked herself in her room again…" He said softly.

Robin quietly hopped down off the counter. Kaldur seemed to read the boys intentions and shook his head. "No my friend. Let her be. She will not open the door for anyone."

The boy wonder shrugged. "I don't know who this 'anyone' person is, but I'll take a crack at it anyway…"

* * *

**Mount Justice: September 20, 12:34 a.m.**

M'Gann was curled up on her bed.

It was times like this that she wished for her humanoid form the most. She missed being able to cry. Crying brought a sort of relief with it, like once you vented your feeling they got just weak enough that you could deal with them. But not in this form. This form couldn't cry.

A soft sound drew her attention and she sat up.

A _very _small grate in the far corner of her room had been pushed out of the wall. And now there were a pair of black gloved hands creeping out of it. She sat there on the edge of her bed, numb with shock as arms followed those hands, then a head, neck, and shoulders.

Robin gave her a soft smile and wormed the rest of his body out of the wall. "Hey M'Gann. Thought you might like someone to talk to…"

M'Gann heaved a sigh, resting her head in her hands. She could just see him over the tops of her hands, and her look said it all. 'Thought you might like someone to talk to.' Poor choice of words Robin.

"And no, that was not a poor choice of words." Robin answered as if he had read her mind. "There's more than one way to talk. And yes, they've already told me what all you've tried. Pencil and paper, keyboard, sign language, charades…" he chuckled. "I figured we'd just try _talking._"

M'Gann cocked her head.

"They've been hovering haven't they?" She nodded and an amused grin touched his face. "How bad?" She moaned and dropped her face in her hands. Robin winced. "Ouch… that bad huh?" he laughed. "And I'll bet Conner was the worst of the lot wasn't he?"

She groaned even louder through her fingers and nodded again.

Robin flopped down on the bed next to her. "So what kind of helicopter are they? The ones that are constantly asking if they can help, or are they the ones who are jerking things out of your hands saying 'let me do it for you'? One or two?"

M'Gann waggled her hand, indicating that there was a little of both.

Robin smiled. "I'll bet…"

She gave him a speculative look and let the shields around her mind fall, broadcasting her emotions to him. He jumped a little at the contact but listened carefully to the feelings she was sending him.

"I thought you couldn't use your powers." He said when she was finished. She nodded. "All except that one then." He interpreted, and she nodded again. "Why didn't you use it to communicate with the others before?"

She got to her feet, pacing the room like a caged animal while she let her emotions wash over him. She let her frustrations of the past few days wash through. Her anger. Her hatred for this form.

She let him feel _everything_.

She couldn't _do_ anything on her own anymore! She couldn't cook without her telekinesis or else the flames would hurt her. She could barely write a sentence with a pen on paper, and she'd already broken a couple keyboards trying to type. She couldn't pick up scrabble tiles to save her life and she had to duck to get through every door. She couldn't spar, the tiny little buttons on the remote control were a lost cause, flipping pages in books was near impossible, and turning the tiny little knobs to turn on lamps was completely beyond her. Even something as simple as turning the knob on a faucet was an hour long chore.

"You can only send what you're feeling now, right this minute." Robin interpreted. She nodded. "I can see where that would be a problem. You were afraid they'd misinterpret your feelings and be hurt by them, especially all that frustration. You were afraid they wouldn't be 'turbed'."

She actually laughed at that, some of her frustration fading. Her first laugh in three days.

It was her abilities as an empath that had made her decide to stay here in the mountain, rather than accompany her uncle up to the watch tower. She might not be able to talk to them, but she could sense their nearness and their love and concern for her. It reassured her, and soothed her sense of loneliness to some extent.

"M'Gann?...How have you been _trying_ to do things?" She gave him a quizzical look. Robin continued, his mood becoming more pensive now. "Have you been trying to do things like you always have, or have you been adapting to your new form?"

M'Gann gave a helpless gesture. What was he talking about?

Robin nodded, and once again his answer was scarily close to her own thoughts. "I know, what am I talking about, right? It's just that… look, there was this friend of the family, back when I was a little kid. He was an entertainer. He used his acrobatics to make people laugh. You know the type, he would've made a great clown for kids birthday parties. Then there was an accident, and he ended up in a wheelchair. There's _no way_ he could _ever_ walk again."

M'Gann cocked her head, resting her chin in her hand as she sat back down. It was a very rare thing that Robin spoke of his life outside of his role as a crime fighter. She liked that he trusted her like this.

"After the accident, he was angry, frustrated. He couldn't do all the things he used to be able to do before…" he laughed. "Obviously. You can't do a cartwheel in a wheelchair. He went a whole year like that, and then just… changed! Overnight he became his old self again. He's back at his old job now and he's better at it than ever. He figured out a way to turn that wheelchair into an advantage, and as far as he's concerned that year he spent being angry was a year wasted."

M'Gann looked at her hands speculatively.

Robin caught hold of her hands, nodding. "That's it. What advantages can this form give you? God forbid, but if you're stuck like this forever then you can't spend the rest of your life angry because you can't do things the way you used to. You've either got to accept that you need help, or learn to do them in a new way. You've _got_ to move _forward_. Not sit here like a bump on a log looking back at what you had."

M'Gann thought about that for some time while Robin patiently waited. At last, a wash of emotions rushed over Robin again. Gratitude. Uncertainty. But most importantly, determination.

The boy wonder smiled and squeezed her hand. "That's the M'Gann I know."

She gave another laugh at that.

Robin bounced up off the bed. "I know your life on Mars was a hard one, what with all the prejudice against white Martians and all. That's bound to leave scars. But you're here M'Gann, and they're light years away. There is absolutely _no one_ here to carry on that prejudice. We like you just the way you are, and anyone who can't see the amazing person you are for the color of your skin? Or the shape of your body?" he shrugged. "Well, to be honest it's their loss really. They missing out on a pretty awesome friend."

She let the wealth of emotions wash over him, showing him exactly what his words meant to her. He stood still, being careful to pay attention to each and every one to make sure he got the whole picture. When she was finished he smiled and held out his hand.

"Now what say you give this thing another shot, huh?"

* * *

**Mount Justice: October 4, 6:08 p.m.**

It wasn't easy.

Then again, Robin had never promised that it _would_ be easy. Over the next couple of weeks while her uncle was away, Robin worked with her to find new ways to do old things. He must have spoken with the others, because they weren't asking her if she needed help as much, and they were letting her do more things on her own.

And once they got the gist of what Robin was doing, they were only too happy to help out. Not every idea worked, but there were a few that were homeruns.

Like Wally's idea to install clappers on the cave lights. The clappers were excellent for bedrooms, but they had to modify his idea to motion sensors everywhere else. After the fifteenth time the lights went out during sparing, Canary put her foot down on that one. And all the clattering in the kitchen, or card and board games in the living room were tripping the clappers too much for comfort.

Artemis brought in a pair of oven mitts tailor made by her and her mother to fit M'Gann's hands, along with a big wooden paddle like bread makers used, so the Martian would always have some way to get her culinary creations in and out of the oven.

M'Gann had to re-learn how to cook, but her friends didn't seem to mind eating charcoal.

In the space of a few hours Conner went through the entire mountain and changed the faucets in rooms M'Gann used from the twist knob kind to the kind with a handle.

Zatanna taught her how to make her bed without the use of telekinesis, and Raquel braided up handles to be hung on the cupboards that gave M'Gann trouble, allowing the Martian to simply pull the braid rather than mess with the irritating cupboard handle.

Kaldur and M'Gann spent a few hours out in the sea, experimenting with her new form until they found a new way for her to swim. Robin found her an inkwell somewhere and showed her how to dip the very tip of her claw in and write with that.

Even Black Canary got into the act, working with M'Gann to make the reach of her much longer arms and legs into a strength in combat, rather than a liability.

When J'onn returned after two weeks of cleaning up the latest psychic mess Gorilla Grod had left behind, he was startled to find M'Gann actually thriving in her Martian form.

But he still couldn't find the site of Psimon's tampering.

* * *

**Happy Harbor: October 11, 7:45 p.m.**

M'Gann bared her teeth, allowing a low, animalistic growl to rumble in her chest and throat.

The human in front of her screamed in terror, dropping his bulging carpet bag.

After three weeks of being trapped in this form, never leaving the mountain except to enjoy the woods or the beach with her friends, M'Gann had started to go a little stir crazy. And so she had asked to be returned to mission duty. There was no reason to hold her back, even Black Canary agreed that M'Gann's hand to hand was almost back on par to where she'd been before her encounter with Psimon.

So here she was.

Rather than throw her back out into the thick of things, Batman had instead placed the entire team on patrol in Happy Harbor during the evening hours. So far, things had gone pretty well. She had discovered that her ability to scare people with her appearance was actually coming in quite handy. One growl was usually all it took to send her victim running to her team or the police seeking safety, only to find out that she was one of the good guys and they had totally just handed themselves over on a silver platter.

The team had come out early tonight, and had caught a bank heist in progress just as the sun was beginning to set. It was a pretty good sized gang, and Wally could be heard over the jammed open com link wondering how that many guys in ski masks had managed to get into the bank without being noticed.

The man in front of M'Gann suddenly fumbled a gun out of his clothes.

She snorted, batting it away before he had a chance to use it. She wasn't about to get shot down by some two bit thug her third day back on the job. Then she heard the frightened, angry cry. Her head shot up and she straightened to her full height, using it to see over the various desks and potted plants of the bank.

One of the men had grabbed a little boy and was trying to use him as a hostage, but the boy was fighting back and the man had had to tuck the gun in his belt to try and subdue his would be hostage.

M'Gann climbed one of the pillars, praying the man didn't look up and that this building had good construction. Using the light fixtures and the moldings on the ceiling for handholds, M'Gann hurried across the bank's ceiling like a spider.

The little boy saw her.

M'Gann held a finger to her lips, asking him to be quiet, and began creeping headfirst down the pillar behind the man. The boy averted his eyes, continuing to fight the man for all he was worth.

Smart little boy.

He even turned and called for help from his mother, from the other heroes, anybody. His mother had already been removed from the building and the other heroes were busy, though the team could all see that M'Gann was handling it. No one answered the boy's cries.

M'Gann reached the floor.

One long hand wrapped completely around the man's rib cage easily, lifting him up off the floor. The other hand pulled the boy out of his grasp. She tossed the man aside, cradling the boy close, and it warmed her heart when he didn't seem to care about her appearance in the least.

But the bank robber wasn't finished yet.

He scrambled to his feet, pulling a gun on her. M'Gann leaned forward in a crouch, shielding the boy with her body. The easiest target for the man was her head, and she didn't care if that got hit. Since the brain was their best defense, the seat of their power, Martians had long ago evolved strong, thick skulls to protect that resource. The only reason the blow to the head with Psimon had done any damage was because he was already in her mind and she'd been using the more vulnerable skull structure of a human at the time.

She roared, hoping to both frighten the man and get her teammates attention.

He was beyond her reach, and she didn't dare jump up and try to bat the gun from his grasp as that would expose the child. She'd never forgive herself if the boy got hurt because of her. She roared again.

There, she had Kaldur's attention.

**_There, nail that red thing right in the middle of its forehead. That'll kill it. It has to kill it! _**

M'Gann froze. What? She focused in on that thought, and it was with elation that she realized she could hear her attacker's thoughts!

If her powers were coming back, then maybe…?

The gun was suddenly yanked out of the man's hands and flung halfway across the room, seemingly by some invisible hand. M'Gann bared her teeth in a wicked smile as she slowly straightened.

This was going to be fun.

Still cradling the boy to her chest she roared, gesturing with her free hand. Those bank robbers still on their feet suddenly found themselves flung upwards into the air, plastered against the bank's high ceiling. Her friends whipped around to stare at her, surprise and joy on their faces as they realized what was happening.

She smiled and lowered her hand, though her prisoners remained snugly pressed against the ceiling.

For the first time in three weeks she could hear the voices of her friends minds, and it was beyond wonderful. To a Martian, being unable to use telepathy was akin to being deaf and dumb, and even though she had been able to sense her friends emotions she had still felt isolated from them. Now she could hear their excited chatter, even if she wasn't listening closely enough to hear what they were saying, that would be invading their privacy.

It was as if someone had taken plugs from her ears and now she could hear _everything_ clearly, not just the ebb and flow of their emotions.

**_Link established. _**She thought at them.

They grinned, hugging her, clapping her on the back and just all around congratulating her on the return of her abilities.

**_They are all back right? _**Wally thought after the tumult had died down.

M'Gann held up one hand, and it shifted to green with five digits and back again without trouble. She phased that same hand through Conner's shoulder, assuring herself that her density shifting was back online as well.

Robin cackled. **_Not that we're not 'chalant' with your Martian form, but now that you can change…will you? _**

M'Gann hadn't thought that far ahead. **_Yes. _**She thought back. **_But not here. I…I don't think I'll be using Megan anymore, or at least not entirely. I'll change back at the mountain._**

**_ Fine by me. _**Wally thought.

_**It's gonna be murder but he can wait. **_Artemis teased.

Zatanna cocked her head. **_So, any idea why your powers all of a sudden kicked in again? _**

**_ Couldn't 'ave had better timin' though. _**Raquel added silently.

M'Gann shifted the boy in her arms. **_When Psimon was in my mind, he was looking for my fears and uncertainties. When I got hit in the head, I think it jarred both our minds enough that a block was put in until I resolved those fears. You've all shown me that I need to accept who and what I am. And as I've been doing that these past few weeks the block has been weakening. I think coming out here with the team where all the world can see what I am was the last blow I needed to shatter the block. _**

**_ Is it possible that this block could return if your doubts and fears were to resurface? _**Kaldur asked silently.

M'Gann shook her head. **_I don't think so. The block is broken and…_**

"…excuse me…?"

All eyes zeroed in on the boy. He shifted a little at the attention. He hadn't been able to hear any of the psychic conversation and, to his mind at least, it just looked to him like they were staring at each other and making weird random gestures.

"Can I go find my mommy soon?"

* * *

**Mount Justice: October 11, 10:15 p.m.**

"What do you think?"

All eyes turned to look at the Martian girl as she came out of her invisibility mode. It was their green skinned M'Gann, but she wasn't quite as they remembered. She was still using the form of 'Megan', but it wasn't the carbon copy of the T.V. character that it had been before.

Now there was just a touch of difference, subtle but noticeable if you knew the character well and were paying attention.

The body shape was the same for the most part, though she seemed to be a little taller than before. It was the facial features that struck them. These were 'Megan's', but at the same time they weren't. It was as though M'Gann had allowed some of her own Martian features to influence those of 'Megan'. So even though it wasn't the face of 'Megan' that they were used to, it was still undeniably their M'Gann.

"Like the new haircut." Raquel commented.

M'Gann smiled, running a hand over the new pixie cut. "I thought it was time for a change." She admitted. "And it was always getting in the way on missions."

Conner laced his fingers through hers. "You look great." He reassured her.

She smiled. "I wanted to thank you. All of you." She added, including the rest of the team. "Thanks for helping me these past few weeks. Thanks for putting up with me. And thank you for encouraging me." That last bit seemed to be directed at Robin.

Robin cackled. "That's what we're all here for!"

* * *

I had a completely different idea in mind and started to type it when WHAM! All of a sudden _this_ bombshell hits me and I _know _it's the one! Now I've had several requests for Conner, Zatanna, the team helping Robin, and a few sporadic requests for a red arrow one shot. I'm saving Red Arrow for the season two segment of my one shot series, and the Robin bit won't happen till I've got the rest of the team out of the way, so your choices are Conner and Zatanna.

Review!

Until next time...


	5. Magician's Misery

Due to an overwhelming tie, I'm doing Zatanna first and Conner will be next chapter. I'm not sure whether I'll do Wolf and Sphere, but I will do all 26. I'm just going about it by seasons. Once season 1 is through I'll move on to season 2. After that...meh, I'll probably be all over the place. XD I am relegating Roy (both of them) to season two...(I have my reasons)...

Shout outs to the asterous: Sairey13, Reina Grayson, Molly Grace16, Evening Raven, b00kw0rms, randomkitty101, Zarsla, and Guests! Cookies to you!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

**Central City: May 16, 4:25 p.m. (Team Year Two)**

"So…. We're throwing a surprise birthday bash for Zatanna, right?"

Wally and Robin were currently sitting in Wally's living room enjoying a game of checkers. They were seated side by side on the couch, but the fact that he was playing the game from Wally's side of the board didn't bother Robin too much. He saw it as a challenge to himself and a look inside his opponents head.

Robin grinned at Wally. "Are you kidding? Or _course _we're throwing her a surprise party! What kind of friends would we be otherwise?"

Wally snorted and elbowed Robin. "You mean what kind of _boyfriend_ would _you _be if you forgot her birthday?" He teased in answer.

Robin didn't even bat an eyelash at the 'boyfriend' comment. He and Zatanna weren't an official couple yet, but he'd made no secret of his intentions to Wally. "That too." He laughed in agreement. The boy wonder stood, taking a moment to stretch before grabbing one of the checkers pieces, taking four jumps around the board and picking up the last of Wally's pieces.

"Dude!" The redhead starred at the board, aghast.

Robin snagged his coat off the hook. "Revenge for the 'boyfriend' comment." He answered with a laugh. "I'm not her boyfriend _yet_."

Wally did the only thing a mature seventeen year old could do in such a situation. He stuck his tongue out at the offending teen. "Yep, but you've got plenty of plans in _that_ direction I'm sure." He tossed the last of the checkers in the box and folded up the board. "Seriously though dude, when _are _you going to ask her out? You two've been mooning over each other since two seconds after you guys met!"

Robin sighed. "I…I don't know. It seems like whenever the chance presents itself, something gets in the way. And you know how it is whenever a special occasion comes up. Her dad was there her entire life, and for a long time he was all she had. Now he's gone, and to her mind it couldn't be worse if there'd been a zombie left in his place…. And we didn't start mooning over each other after two seconds!"

Wally bounced up off the couch, making a point of ruffling the younger boy's raven hair. He laughed when Robin playfully tried to bat his hands away. "Ok. Ok…. It was a _whole_ three seconds…"

Robin yelled and chased after him, the two boys running through the house at normal human speeds as they laughed and yelled insults at each other. Eventually it devolved into a wrestling match, and Wally was once again reminded why wrestling with someone who could give an eel a run for their money was a bad idea.

"Pinned!" Robin panted into Wally's face.

Wally flipped the two of them over, reversing their positions as he pinned Robin's hands to the floor on either side of his head. "Not on your life." He panted back with a laugh. After a moment his face softened. "Seriously though dude... Just, _ask_ her. What's the worst that could happen? She says no? You can't be not dating her anymore than you are already. Ask her at the party."

Robin chewed his lip, not seeming the least bit uncomfortable pinned to the floor. "But what about her dad? It's not even been a year yet Wall's, and I know I wouldn't have been ready just after I lost my parents…"

"Dude, stop being such a downer! You were _seven_ when they died! Of course you wouldn't have been ready!" Wally exclaimed, purposefully trying to lighten the mood. "And her dad's not dead he's just…trapped…." He sighed. "Yeah, you're right. She probably _does_ see it like he's dead. After all the hassle he had to go through to find another host after he lost Kent, Nabu's _never_ going to let Zatarra take off the helmet."

Robin lightly bumped his forehead against Wally's. "Hey… Now look who's bein' the downer." He teased. "And you're right. I should just ask her, and sometime _soon_. But in the meantime I've gotta get back to Gotham or Batman's gonna put my tail in a sling. So if you wouldn't mind letting me up?"

Wally was preening. "Of course I'm right! After all, didn't I sweep the hottest babe on the team off her feet?" he tightened his grip on Robin's wrists. "And no, you're not getting up anytime soon. Not until you give me a date and time so I can be there with a camera when Zatanna says yes!"

"First? I am so not debating the hotness of the various girls on the team, seeing as you and I would be totally biased. Second? Geez, you make it sound like I'm asking her to marry me! And third…Wally?"

"Hm?"

In a move that showcased an insane amount of flexibility, Robin suddenly brought both feet up between them and planted them in the middle of Wally's chest. "No one keeps Batman waiting."

Robin laughed and catapulted his best friend across the room to land on the couch. The boy wonder rolled to his feet with a wild cackle and was out the door two seconds later.

"Wally, don't jump on the furniture!" Iris called from the kitchen.

The speedster gave a soft laugh. "Yes Aunt Iris…"

* * *

**Mount Justice: May 19, 6:30 p.m.**

Zatanna sniffled.

The raven haired magician brought the knife down on the onions again. It wasn't the onions making her cry, far from it. But it gave her an excuse. Anyone glancing into the kitchen and seeing her crying over a pile of sliced up onions would draw the obvious conclusions. They wouldn't even think twice about it.

She missed her dad.

She missed him with a vengeance. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't blame herself for her father's fate. She knew what would happen if she put on the helmet of fate. Or at least, she had thought she did. Nabu had released both Wally and Kaldur, it had never occurred to her that Nabu would want to keep her due to the fact that she was a powerful magic user. It had never occurred to her that her father would offer himself up in her place when Nabu refused to release her.

But there had been something she hadn't realized until it was too late.

With Wally and Kaldur, there had been an intermediary to negotiate with Nabu on their behalf. The previous host of Dr. Fate, Kent Nelson.

Apparently the elderly old gentleman had taken a particular liking to Wally, and he had taken it on himself to speak up for Wally and his friends. He'd managed to talk Nabu out of keeping Wally or Kaldur as his host, but when he'd tried to talk Nabu out of taking so perfect a host as Zatanna, Nabu would not be swayed. He had released Kent Nelson's spirit from its entrapment in the helmet, sending it on to the afterlife.

If you thought about it in the right light, she had cost two men their lives that night, she thought bitterly.

"You ok Zatanna?"

She looked up, startled. She hadn't heard anyone coming…

M'Gann was floating there in the doorway, having apparently just flown in from somewhere or other. Her hair was wind tossed and her cheeks were flushed. She'd probably been out flying for the fun of it.

"Yeah, I'm fine M'Gann." Zatanna ducked her head, refocusing on the task of slicing up the onions into rings. "It's just the onions."

M'Gann landed on the floor across the kitchen island from her. "…Zatanna? I haven't been prying or anything, but… I know it's not just the onions…"

Zatanna sighed, setting her knife down beside the onion remains. M'Gann was a Martian empath, as well as a telepath. Right. That meant she could sense _emotions_ as well as read people's thoughts. M'Gann could probably sense the deep well of misery that was her friend from five hundred feet above the mountain's peak. She wouldn't just assume the tears were from onions.

"Your dad again?" The Martian asked softly. Zatanna nodded and the Martian moved around the table to hug her friend. "I'm sorry." She whispered, not really sure what she was apologizing for, but willing to say anything if it would make Zatanna feel better.

Zatanna let out a strangled little sob. "I can't help it M'Gann! It's my fault he's trapped inside that helmet! Wally and Kaldur both told me not to. They tried to warn me, but I wouldn't _listen. _There _had _to have been another way. If I'd just listened to Wally and Kaldur, my dad would be alright and that… that helmet would still be just a souvenir in Wally's trophy room."

"You don't know that." M'Gann soothed. "No one knows what would've happened. Only what did happen. Who knows, maybe that was the only way we could've won."

Zatanna shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "We didn't win. We _lost_. The price was too high M'Gann. The price was too high…"

M'Gann nodded. "I know, Zee. I know…" Her eyes met the shade covered eyes of the boy wonder peering in the kitchen over the counter. After a long moment, Robin turned away and disappeared back into the depths of the mountain.

* * *

**Watchtower: May 20, 7:03 p.m.**

_Recognize. Robin. B. Zero. One. _

Robin stepped out of the zeta beam, glancing furtively from side to side. If there had been any other way to accomplish this mission, he would've taken it. But no, coming up here to the watch tower was his best chance of finding him.

He slipped from the zeta tube entrance into the shadows along the edge of the hall, quickly finding the grate he'd seen in the blueprints. This was the most dangerous part of his plans. He could hack the system to give himself a temporary access to the Watchtower, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to keep the zeta's from calling out his name and designation when he came through. If someone happened to hear his arrival his plan would be sunk.

The boy wonder pulled the grate back into place behind him.

Now for the fun and easy part. It was the work of a few minutes to finagle his way into their system. Another few minutes saw the entire blue prints and defense system of the air ducts and ventilation shafts laid out before him. From there, shutting off the lasers and motions sensors was as easy as one, two, three.

Robin chewed the inside of his cheek.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he accessed the Justice League personnel files. He scrolled down through the list of names until he found the one he wanted. He was in luck! His quarry was here in the watchtower!

And he was _close_!

The boy wonder downsized his screen and began crawling through the tunnels. He didn't have any fear of someone turning on the defenses while he was still inside. He'd left a nice little glitch in their systems that would keep him from getting fried. It would dismantle at the stroke of midnight on the dot, unless the computer registered his departure, in which case it would dismantle immediately after he was gone.

Robin carefully counted the grates and offshoots as he passed.

At last he came to the one that he wanted. He cautiously peered inside. The computers and motion sensors hadn't lied. He silently eased the grate out of its fixture and pulled it up and into the air duct, using his cape to buffer it against any metal on metal sounds it would've made.

Just like Batman had taught him.

He smirked. He wondered what his mentor would say if he knew what sort of use Robin was putting that training to. He maneuvered around, slipping his feet through and letting his body drop down through the small opening into the room below.

His quarry leapt to his feet, prepared to fight the unexpected intruder.

The boy wonder held up his hands. After a very long moment, his target slowly relaxed. He drew his cape about him, eyes narrowing behind his mask.

"Speak." The deep voice rumbled out the order. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

Robin lowered his hands. "I've got a quick little question…"

* * *

**Mount Justice: May 20, 7:00 p.m.**

"Happy birthday Zatanna!"

The raven haired magician jumped as the lights suddenly flipped on and the voices rang out around her. Noise makers were blown and party poppers were set off, sending cascades of glitter, paper ribbons, and confetti raining down over her head.

"Surprise!" Wally slung an arm around Zatanna's shoulders, a big stupid grin on his face. Holding up a cone shaped party hat, he set it on her head and slipped the elastic under her chin. "Ze crown for le birthday princess!" he laughed in an absolutely _horrible_ French accent.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "The next question is if this really was a surprise or if it was like Wally's sweet sixteen." She answered, making Zatanna grin.

Wally adopted an affronted look. "That was totally a surprise on me babe."

"Nope, the surprise was in that the rest of us managed to get cake." Artemis answered. The blonde slipped her arm around her boyfriend's waist, planting a kiss on his cheek to let him know she didn't mean it harshly.

Zatanna laughed and hugged the couple. "It's definitely a surprise to me! But…" her eyes darted around the room full of people, paying special attention to the shadows as she searched for a certain ninja wearing shades. She returned her gaze to them when she couldn't find any sign of him. "…where's Robin?"

Wally blanched. "Yeah… about that. He was gonna be here. He was the mastermind behind all of this after all! But something came up and he had to stay in Gotham. He said he'd swing by if he could but…"

Artemis sighed. "Bat's promised him he could be here. If it was bad enough that he had to renege on his promise, you know it's bad." She gave Zatanna a sad smile. "Sorry Zee, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

M'Gann was tugging on Zatanna's elbow, guiding her towards the coffee table and a cake with pretty colored candles and frosting roses artfully arranged on top of it. The girls had all clearly pitched in, and they had definitely outdone themselves. The boys had probably been the ones to hang up the birthday banner's and all the streamers. Zatanna could see presents settled on a card table off to one side.

"Oh! Zee!" Wally slipped a small folded piece of paper into Zatanna's hand. "Robin asked me to give you that!"

_"_Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Zatanna." The rest of the partygoers began to sing, completely oblivious as they sat Zatanna down in front of the burning cake. "Happy birthday to you!"

"Make a wish!" M'Gann called excitedly, keeping a safe distance from the candles.

A small pang touched her heart as the wish she _really_ wanted came to mind. Across the table, M'Gann's smile faltered as she caught the sudden change of emotions. Zatanna pasted a convincing smile to her face and leaned forward, blowing out the candles in a single breath to the cheers of her friends and the mentors who had decided to show up.

"So, blowing out all the candles means she's supposed to get her wish right?" Super Boy checked.

"I believe that is the superstition behind the custom." Kaldur agreed.

M'Gann was already slicing the cake while Raquel served up the ice cream. Zatanna took her chance and unfolded the little post-it note in the palm of her hand. A soft smile touched her lips.

_If Wally's giving you this than I must not have made it to the party. Sorry about that. Hope you're 'chalant enough to hang out tomorrow? _

_ -Robin _

She quietly tucked the note in her pocket. Of course she'd be chalant enough to hang out tomorrow! Then the others were calling for her attention and passing her a plate full of sugary food and she didn't have any time to wonder what Robin had planned for tomorrow to make up for his absence here tonight.

* * *

**Hall of Justice: May 20, 7:28 p.m.**

He stumbled down the halls of the Justice League's Hall of Justice.

He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He glanced at a clock and swore softly under his breath. Zatanna's surprise party had started half an hour ago.

He practically ran past the massive statues of the Leagues founding members, heading for the door below Superman and Wonder Woman's feet.

The room beyond, it had been a while since he'd been there. Books lined the shelves, and tables and chairs were set into the floor. A massive computer bank adorned the far wall, and galleries of windows lined the walls up close to the ceiling. But it was the zeta tube entrance to the right of the computer that he was after.

He quickly keyed in the code for the mountain and darted into the zeta tube.

Hopefully he wasn't too late.

* * *

**Mount Justice: May 20, 7:30 p.m.**

"Ready to do your presents Zee?"

Zatanna laughed and gave Raquel a thumbs up from her spot on the couch. Was she sad that her dad couldn't be here? Yes. Yes she most certainly was. But, somehow, her friends had found a way of distracting her. Keeping her from thinking about it. She'd probably cry her eyes out in her room later after the party was over and her guests were gone, but for right now she was doing alright.

"Wally, you do not _always _have to be first." Artemis berated her boyfriend when he tried to run and get his gift. She snagged his ear, making the speedster yelp.

Then, over the laughter of the rest of the partygoers, the zeta tube whirred to life in response to the arrival of a latecomer. Still laughing, Zatanna turned expectantly with the rest, waiting for the computer to chime out Robin's name and designation.

_Recognize. Zatarra. One. One. _

Zatanna's laughter died in her throat and her mouth went dry. Of all the nights for the zeta tubes to malfunction…

Giovanni Zatarra stepped from the Zeta.

All was dead silent as eyes grew wider and wider, and jaws dropped open. A couple people actually dropped what they were holding. He looked just as they remembered him. His face was just beginning to show his age, but his hair and mustache were still thick and dark. He was tall, and the black and white tuxedo looked good on him, though he was missing his cane and top hat.

But it was him.

Zatanna starred at him in shock. This couldn't be happening…

Zatarra's eyes swept the room, quickly locating his daughter peering at him over the back of the couch. "Zatanna…" he murmured.

"Dad!" Zatanna scrambled over the back of the couch, running to her father and practically diving into his arms. It couldn't be true, it was too fantastic to be true.

But it _was_ true!

She knew it was true from the minute she heard his voice, felt his arms wrap around her, smelled the old familiar scents on his suit.

Tears welled in her eyes as she leaned back to look at him, reaching up to touch his face. Reassure herself that he was really here. "I missed you Daddy…"

He smiled, tears shining in his own eyes as he planted a tender kiss on her forehead. "I missed you too Zatanna…"

"How is this possible?"

The two turned to look. The others were slowly gathering around. Wally's mouth was hanging open, and even Kaldur seemed truly startled. But it was Canary who had asked the question.

Zatarra shook his head. "I am not entirely certain." He admitted. "All I know is that Fate removed the helmet, and someone else donned it before I could open my eyes and see the face of my savior. I was greeted by a new Dr. Fate in the Hall of Justice."

"Do you have any idea who it was?" Flash asked.

Zatarra shook his head. "No. And Fate would tell me nothing. All I know for certain is that my rescuer was male, and that he had quite striking blue eyes."

Captain Marvel scratched his head. "I don't know anyone in the league with real bright blue eyes…"

In the back of the room, Artemis noticed Wally grow exceptionally pale. She cast him a questioning glance and he ever so subtly shook his head. She gave a slight nod, wrapping an arm around his waist to give him a reassuring squeeze. He knew something, but he didn't want to talk about it here. She could wait until they got home. If there was one thing the assassin's daughter had learned over the years, it was patience.

Zatanna chewed her lip nervously. "So, is this guy going to be Fate from now on?"

Zatarra gave her a sad smile and shook his head. "No. That I cannot allow. Fate indicated that this host was willing, but that there would be serious consequences if he remained Fate for too long. He has another roll to play in this world, and that roll cannot be fulfilled as Dr. Fate. I have been given my freedom for tonight to be with you on your birthday, but I am to meet Fate tomorrow morning at dawn to become his host once again."

Zatanna nodded, but Zatarra felt her arms tighten around his waist reflexively.

"Well, if he doesn't have to get back till morning, what do you guys say we get back to the party?" Wally asked with an exaggerated grin.

Just like that, the tension was broken.

Zatanna was ushered back to the couch with her father, and it wasn't long before she was laughing and joking with her friends again.

Giovanni watched it all with interest and joy.

Batman had allowed his daughter to join the team, though that wasn't surprising, seeing as how his own son was a part of that team. But this was more than just a team now, he realized as he watched them. This was a family now, or as close to a family as they could get when they didn't all live together.

His heart warmed, his confidence in the dark knight to take care of his daughter more than rewarded by what he saw here. Zatanna might have lost her father, but she had gained brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles to keep her from harm and loneliness.

And the father in him couldn't have been more grateful.

* * *

**Mount Justice: May 21, 3:45 a.m.**

"I wish you didn't have to go."

Zatarra nodded, hugging his daughter close. The two had stayed up all night after the party had ended and the guests had gone home. Those who lived in the mountain had quietly retired to their own rooms not long after. Zatanna had curled up on the couch with Zatarra and the two had just talked. Anything and everything was discussed as they made up for lost time. Enjoying each other's company.

But now it was nearly dawn.

"I do not regret becoming Fate." He reassured her gently.

And in truth he didn't. It had been an incredible learning experience for him in the realm of the mystic arts. But he would've given it all up to be able to return to his daughter, for _that_ was his one regret.

"It would have been torture to me if you had retained Fate's helmet." He said gently. "For you are young, and you have your whole life before you. I have lived my life, and I do not regret the choices I have made. I will watch you grow and live your life from behind the eyes of Fate. Batman often comes to tell me of your life" an amused smile crossed his lips as he admitted, "I think it irritates Nabu when he does that."

Tears welled in Zatanna's eyes as she watched him key in his destination to the Zeta tubes. "Daddy…"

Zatarra gently hugged her one last time. "I will always be with you Zatanna." He brushed a kiss to her forehead. "And I will always love you. Live your life to the fullest Zatanna, and do not weep for me. I am not gone just yet." He smiled. "And though Nabu will hate it, you are welcome to speak to me any time you please. He will not deny you that."

Zatanna nodded, a numb little smile on her face. She gave a little wave, whispering a tearful 'I love you' as he stepped into the zeta tube and disappeared from her sight.

* * *

**Outside Gotham City Limits: May 21, 4:35 a.m.**

Zatarra slowly walked up the hill.

It was a beautiful spot, he reflected as he climbed. These high cliffs on the edge of the sea were one of Gotham's many claims to fame, and one of their better ones, if one was being honest. Certainly better than their incredible crime rate or their claim as the home and birthplace of the Joker and a half dozen other heinous criminals.

Looking up, he was surprised to see two caped figures framed against the sea and sky beyond, the rising morning sun shining down on their faces. One was the blue and gold figure of Fate.

The other the somber gray and black figure of Gotham's dark knight.

He shouldn't have been surprised to see Batman there, he scolded himself. If there was another hero in his territory, the dark knight had a reputation for knowing it and being there to supervise. Of course he would be here keeping an eye on Dr. Fate.

Both men turned to look at him, apparently ending whatever conversation they'd been holding as he finally reached them.

"Are you satisfied now?" The dark knight growled, an edge of strain in his voice that Giovanni had never heard there before. "Release him."

It was with shock that he realized Batman was here for more than just keeping an eye on Fate. He _knew _whoever it was who had given up an evening of their life to let Zatarra spend time with his daughter.

"Be forewarned." Fate's deep voice rumbled. "A great battle was fought this night between order and chaos. He will be weak and tired, but there will be no lasting effects."

"Understood." Batman growled, and guilt assailed Giovanni. Whoever was under that helmet meant a lot to the dark knight, and he had been put in danger last night just so Giovanni could go to his daughter's birthday party.

Fate nodded, and those brilliant blue eyes closed.

Gold gloved hands reached up and removed the helmet. In a brilliant instant, the costume of Fate fell away and disappeared, revealing the red and black costume of Robin the boy wonder in its place. Despite the fact that his eyes could be clearly seen while he was wearing the helmet of Fate, his customary domino mask was firmly affixed to his face now. For a moment he merely stood there, the helmet in his hands.

He gave a low moan, and his knees buckled.

A curse escaped the dark knights lips as both men leapt forward to catch the thirteen year old before he could hit the ground. Batman didn't hesitate to settle himself on the ground, cradling his son in his lap.

"Of all the bone headed, idiotic…" he growled.

Zatarra shook his head. "My apologies Batman. Fate hid his identity from me when the helmet was passed. Had I known it was your son…"

Batman gently brushed his son's dark hair back out of his face. "It's not your fault Giovanni. Robin's too clever for his own good sometimes." He sighed. "I should've seen this coming. After the way Robin lost his parents, Zatanna losing you like that was bound to strike a chord with him."

Zatarra gave Batman a startled look. "Lost his parents…" he repeated.

Batman's eyes narrowed as they met the magician's. "Robin is my son." He asserted. "…he's just not my biological son. I adopted him after his parents were murdered right in front of his eyes."

Zatarra shook his head. "I had no idea…"

Batman wrapped his cape around his son. "It was a long time ago." He answered.

The magician sighed and stood, grabbing the helmet as he did so. He stood there for a moment, just watching the sun rise, the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs behind him a constant sound in his ears.

"Thank you my friend." He murmured softly. Batman looked up questioningly. "For taking care of my girl. Zatanna is happy, and that is all I ever wanted. I could not have chosen a better guardian for her." He smiled at the young man laying in the dark knight's arms. "Please give Robin my thanks for his sacrifice. You have raised up a fine young man my friend." A knowing smile touched both men's lips as he added. "I would be honored to have such a man as my son in law some day."

"I'll let him know." Batman promised.

Zatarra nodded and placed the helmet of Fate on his head. In a brief flash of light, the man that had been Giovanni Zatarra was once again gone. In his place stood the blue and gold garbed figure of Dr. Fate. He cast a nod to the dark knight and his unconscious charge, then disappeared into the glowing gold ankh of one of his spells.

Batman was alone with his son on the shores of the sea.

* * *

**Gotham City: May 12, 12:06 a.m.**

_Recognize. Zatanna. B. Zero. Eight. _

The raven haired magician stepped from the cruddy old phone booth. She wrinkled her nose as she was greeted by Robin in civilian clothes and the dank, nasty smell of rotting garbage.

"Nice place you've got here." She commented dryly.

Robin shrugged, grinning. "It's not much, but we like to call it home." He added a bit more contritely. "We'd clean it up, but that'd be a dead giveaway. Not even the alley's in the upper class neighborhoods are devoid of garbage… sorry about not being there last night…"

Zatanna hugged him. In addition to the usual sunglasses, the boy wonder had pulled a hat down over his hair. "It's alright. I know you would've been there if you could." She tapped the ski cap. "Like the new look."

"Well, we're spending time in Gotham today. You never know when you're going to run into some old friend who's going to just blurt out your name if they recognize you." Robin answered as he stepped back. "Wally called early this morning." He grinned. "That's the first time I've heard of a birthday candle wish coming true that fast!"

Zatanna laughed. "I know. I'd no sooner made the wish and then 'bam' he's there in under half an hour!"

"That's what I call efficient candles." Robin caught her hand, leading her out of the alley and onto the streets. He of all people knew what could happen in a Gotham alley.

"Afraid we'll get mugged?" Zatanna teased.

Robin didn't miss a beat. "Yep. I figure it's best we stay on the beaten path today. I don't know about you, but I've filled my quota on idiot thugs sent to the hospital this week… I'm sorry your dad couldn't stay longer…"

Zatanna laughed. "I could probably send a few more to the hospital if I had to…" she sighed. "Me too. But he said someone took his place for a night, and honor demanded he be punctual in meeting Fate. He wouldn't let them give up one more second than they had to."

Robin nodded. "Your dad's a good man."

"He is." Zatanna wrapped her arm around Robin's waist as they walked, and Robin was gratified to notice she was talking about her father in the present tense rather than the past tense. She didn't see him as having died anymore. "We had a long talk last night." She murmured. "Hashed a few things out. I'll always feel guilty for getting him stuck in that helmet, but I don't feel like I killed him anymore, you know? I feel like….like I volunteered him for a job that he didn't necessarily want, but he took it anyway and now he's making the best of it."

"Did he say who took his place?"

Zatanna shook her head. "No. He said Fate protected the guy's identity from him. All he could tell us was that it was a guy and that he had these really _really _vivid blue eyes. He probably knows now that he's wearing the helmet again, but Nabu will never let him tell anyone."

Robin breathed a silent sigh of relief.

He'd already gotten reamed out by Wally that morning, who'd then handed the phone to Artemis so she could yell at him for putting on the helmet _and_ for trusting 'kid klutz' of all people with his identity, which she still wasn't privy to.

And that was on _top_ of the talking to's he'd got from Bruce _and_ Alfred respectively!

Their talks hadn't ever escalated into yelling, but theirs had certainly stung more. He didn't know if he could handle anyone else today. They couldn't fault him for giving Zatanna her dad back for an evening, but they'd berate him till they were blue in the face for recklessly putting on that helmet!

"That's a shame." He forced himself to say ever so 'chalantly.

"Yeah. I really would've liked to know so I could thank him." Zatanna agreed.

"Bet's are on, he probably knows." Robin adopted a mock business tone and gestured at a restaurant just up the street. "Well miss, will that establishment be acceptable for lunch?"

The moody atmosphere was shattered.

The two made their way inside and made their orders. The 'establishment' Robin had brought her two was a small bakery with a cute little French name, tucked into the corner of a quiet little plaza. Small wrought iron tables and chairs sat on the sidewalk outside under the awnings, and that was where the two decided to sit after their orders had been filled.

They'd both gone for soup in a bread bowl and a small pastry.

They talked all throughout the meal and were just starting on their pastries when Robin suddenly sat up straight in his chair, aghast.

"I almost forgot!" he fished a small package wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper out of the pocket of his hoodie. "Happy birthday Zee… Or, belated birthday, as the case may be…"

"Thanks."

Zatanna laughed as she tore the paper, wadding it up and playfully tossing it at the ninja seated across the table.

Robin cackled, fending her little missile off.

Under the paper she found a plane blue cardboard box. Inside that, she found a silver bracelet. It jingled quietly as she lifted it out of the box and into the light, and she realized it was a charm bracelet. The chain was thick with charms of all sizes and shapes, but each charm was a star, and each was just a little bit different.

"Oh Robin…" she breathed. "It's beautiful…!"

He reached across the table and helped her fasten the bracelet around her wrist. "Happy belated birthday Zee." He said again. Anything else he might have said was cut off by the near silent buzz of the com links in their ears.

Both surreptitiously answered.

They were needed back at the mountain for a mission. Robin and Zatanna hurriedly dumped their trash in the nearby garbage can, wrapping their pastries up in napkins to be eaten later and tucking them in pockets.

"Of all the rotten timing…" Robin groused as they power walked back up the street toward the hidden zeta tube. "We didn't even get to finish dessert!"

Zatanna laughed, hopping over some kid's skateboard. "Our lives certainly'll never be normal." She agreed. "But at least there's one thing that's guaranteed."

Robin cocked his head. "Yeah? What's that?"

"We will absolutely _never _be bored!"

And _that _was why he was pretty sure he loved her, Robin thought with a grin. He took a deep breath. Now or never.

Wally was _so _going to kill him.

"Hey Zee? Got a quick question for ya…"

* * *

Hee hee! Hope that satisfied! My mom absolutely loves this one! Once I've finished some of my current stories, I'm thinking about branching out into some new fandoms. I've got a poll up, so don't feel afraid ta voice your opinion on which ones I should hit up!

Review!

Until next time...


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